Protein Bars, Sugar Free??
Can anyone recommend a protein bar that is sugar free of very low in sugar? Same question with granola. And where do you find them?
Thanks!
I appreciate the recipes, but I have no interest in making my own–any other ideas?
January 13th, 2010 at 12:54 am
What You Need To Make Your Own Protein Bars:
3 1/2 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups powdered non-fat milk
4 scoops low crab chocolate or vanilla protein powder
1 cup sugar-free maple syrup (Cozy Cottage, Cary’s or Howard’s)
2 egg whites, beaten
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 c. natural applesauce
Method:
1.Preheat over to 325 and spray a baking sheet or 9×12 baking dish with non-stick spray. The 9×12 baking dish will yield thicker bars.
2.Mix oats, powdered milk, and protein powder in bowl and blend well.
3.In separate bowl, combine egg whites, orange juice, applesauce, and the sugar-free syrup and blend well.
4.Stir liquid mixture into dry ingredients until blended. The consistency will be thick and similar to cookie dough.
5.Spread batter onto pan and bake until edges are crisp and browned.
6.Cut into 10 bars and store in airtight container or freeze.
Tip:
1.If you find you want a moister bar, use 1/2 cup of natural applesauce.
Kitchen Tip for Low fat Baking:
2.Did you know you can replace the oil in a recipe with an equal amount of applesauce? Applesauce will add the same moisture of fat but not the added calories and it won’t alter the flavor.
I have tried this it is really good and healthy.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:28 am
That would be completely pointless. The whole purpose of this type of product is to provide convenient, portable, easily digestible FUEL for endurance athletes. Clif bars and Powerbars were created by athletes specifically for this reason. Take out the sugar and calories, and there’s no reason to buy or eat them.
When I’m out riding or running for several hours, I need something I can eat without stopping, and that won’t upset my stomach.
In fact, the protein is pointless as well. It was only added to pander to dopes who think eating excess protein after they sit on machines for a few minutes will turn them into Charles Atlas. Its just a marketing pitch.
January 13th, 2010 at 5:56 am
most protein bars unfortunately have a lot of sugar. stay away from power bars and balance bars. look for all natural ones because they usually contain no refined sugars. personally, i like luna bars.
January 13th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Actually, I make my own. There are a lot of protein bar recipes available online. I tried a few until I found the one shown here. It was close and then made a few more modifications. I’ve been told I could sell these, they are so good. They’ll keep in the fridge for about a week or so. You can also freeze them, but we go through them so fast, it’s not a problem for us.
Cranberry Almond Protein Bars
1 C rolled oats
½ C milled flax seed
6-8 oz. dried cranberries (Try experimenting with other dried fruits, like apricots)
1 C Granola style cereal
1 C blanched almonds, sliced or slivered
½ C protein powder (We use “Isopure” or “Muscle Milk.” There are many flavors: Our favorites are Cookies & Cream and Vanilla.) Other protein powders vary in how intense their flavor is. You may find that you want to add a little flavoring extract to the recipe, like vanilla for instance. If so, I would recommend about 1 tsp put into the other wet ingredients.
½ C applesauce (no sugar added)
2 Tsp butter
½ C honey
1-1/2 C crunchy peanut butter
½ Tsp bee pollen (I add this for our allergies. You may or may not want to do it.)
•Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place oats, flax seed, cereal, and almonds on a cookie sheet in oven to toast. I usually just leave them in while I’m putting the other ingredients together, but total time in oven is about 20 minutes.
•In a medium sauce pan over low heat warm butter, honey, applesauce, flavoring if used, and peanut butter until runny. Stir frequently to avoid scorching.
•Combine all dry ingredients including seeds, nuts, bran, protein powder, bee pollen, and fruit in a large mixing bowl.
•Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until well-combined. Pour into medium sized baking pan (about 8” x 11”) lined with wax paper. To make less of a mess, I put another layer of wax paper on top of the mixture and smooth with my hands (It works very well). Press until smooth in pan. Depending on size of pan, bars should be about 1” thick.
•Remove the upper layer of wax paper and place uncovered in fridge or freezer to harden.
•Once firm, turn out onto cutting board to cut into desired sizes. Although this recipe is very healthy, it is also very calorie dense and filling, so we make small squares (about 1” x 1”) for snacking. You can either wrap the bars individually with plastic wrap or foil, or place them in a Tupperware-type container. Refrigerate (May be frozen if you don’t anticipate using the bars within about a week).
January 13th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Special K bars are good, and I’m sure you can find them at a local grocery store.