Protein Bars

not my picture

Spring break had made me feel quite free. I have wanted to cook. 

The other night we had chicken fried steak, hash browns, and greenbeans/carrots. 

Last Tuesday I made pierogies.

Saturday I made these little babies.

They go by the lame name "protein bars"

and pretty much they are yummy.

Using the recipe as a guide (What else would I do?) I made my own version.

 2 cups almonds 1c. pumpkin seeds / 1c. sunflowerseeds
1/4 cup flax seeds, chia seeds or pumpkin seeds (ground in a coffee grinder or blender) – I used chia with delicious results!
1/2 cup dried prunes, dates or raisins
½ cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
½ cup unsalted PeterPan peanut butter (original recipe uses almond butter, but I didn’t have that!)
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup coconut oil (melted)
1 Tbsp maple syrup or honey (we used honey!)
2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract
a few squares dark chocolate, less than half a bar needed for thin layer (optional) – I melted about 1/4 bag of chocolate chips in a small saucepan for the topping

As you can see I did quite a bit of changing to the recipe. I omitted the salt and sweetener because I used Peter Pan peanut butter and all I had was sweetened coconut. It has been so hot here that the coconut oil was melted already. No need to do it myself. 

Everything but the coconut oil and extract goes into the food processor. (Technically all the nuts and stuff are supposed to be ground in a coffee grinder first but eh..not required... obviously) Pulse it until it is (or just run it on high) until the nuts are a pretty fine texture. I just kept working it until my seeds weren't getting any smaller. (It doesn't hurt anything...promise.) Add the coconut oil and extract (I put my extract in the oil before I added them). Blend until it is kinda pasty then press into a 9x13 ungreased pan.

 Let them set in the refrigerator for about an hour. Then melt the chocolate, spread it on top and chill yet again... Or you can do as we did and take a bite then. They should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

You should take a picture of the finished product because you should be proud of the yumminess you just made but alas, it may be a difficult feat if they are eaten as quickly as they were at my house.
Roger ate half the pan.