Homemade Meal-Replacement Protein Bars!

Typically I try not to eat a whole meal for lunch... it's part of my effort to watch what I eat.  My idea is that, if I eat normal portions for breakfast and dinner, and simply replace my lunch, I should improve... and I have.

I have been eating one of the peanut butter chocolate Clif Builder's bars to get me through the day.  They are pretty high in protein but they don't really satiate me, plus they are just too sweet.  There are no other protein bars available at the store that really satisfy me, so I decided to make one myself!

The recipe is pretty simple...

• 1 cup of Silk vanilla coffee creamer
• 5 scoops of Kroger whey/soy protein powder
• 1 heaping cup of peanut butter
• 4.5 cups of quick oats

You can use any other non-dairy milk or even regular milk if you want; I am partial to soymilk, and I used this creamer because it has an extra creamy texture (only trade-off is that it has very little protein in it, unlike normal soymilk).  I also wanted to use only soy protein powder, but there was no Kroger brand of only soy :(... this deserves further shopping around.  As for the peanut butter, I personally prefer reduced fat creamy peanut butter.

Pretty easy procedure:

1. Whisk the milk, to aerate a bit
2. Add the protein powder and whisk together until smooth
3. Add peanut butter and mix well (might want to use a spoon)
4. Add quick oats and combine with your hands (use gloves to prevent messy hands)
5. Place mixture in a small casserole dish lined with parchment paper, and flatten to be even all the way across
6. Chill overnight and cut into 8 pieces; wrap individually and freeze to enjoy later!

Here is some nutrition info... I actually calculated these myself:

• Serving size = 133g (1/8 of total mixture)
• 24g protein per serving
• 13g sugar per serving
• (unsure of calories or fat content)

By comparison... the Clif Builder's bars are 68g total mass each, with 20g protein and 21g sugar.  So these will be much more filling, with more protein and less sugar!

It did come out a little dense, but I think that will help it be filling.  It also came out pretty sticky... so make sure you have napkins, haha.  I plan to try it with half cereal (maybe puffed rice) and half oats next time for some texture.

This is a variation of a visual recipe found at darebee.com