Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Chip Protein Granola Bars

Name: Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Chip Protein Granola Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 cups rolled oats (GF if necessary); 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder of choice (about 2 30 gram scoops)*; 2 tbsp chia seeds; 1/4 tsp sea salt; 1/4 cup unsweetened almond butter; 1/4 cup brown rice syrup (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE THIS! They will fall apart); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk; 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)

January 13, 2015

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Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Chip Protein Granola Bars- with 9 grams of protein and ready in 20 minutes, these protein bars will become your new favorite snack recipe!

I have a habit of getting stuck in food ruts. I find something that I really like and tend to stick to it. For example, I looooove dates and the texture that they give to my no-bake energy balls and bars. As a result, just about every recipe of this sort that has been posted on THM has been a variation of this date-nuts-dried fruit mixture.

While I might be perfectly content with this combination, I can acknowledge that you might not be. Despite my multiple attempts to encourage you to buy a food processor, the majority of you either don’t own one or don’t have the space or budget to own one. This shouldn’t mean you can’t make a healthy no-bake snack of your own too.

I actually developed quite a bit of guilt at how limiting my no-bake balls and bars were for some of you. So much so that I set a goal for myself for 2015 to make sure to include snack recipes that anyone (with a bowl and spoon) can make. But here’s the thing and I learned this lesson years ago when I tried to make no-bake bars with maple syrup, you MUST use brown rice syrup. Perhaps you are one of the few who has discovered how to keep no-bake bars together without brown rice syrup but I am certainly not one of them. Brown rice syrup is the stickiest natural sweetener I’ve used and it really works wonders when it comes to keeping things glued together.

I have no qualms with brown rice syrup other than the fact that I now have another sweetener taking up precious storage space in my cupboards. And that sometimes it can be tricky to find although this argument is no longer now that God has answered my prayers and opened up a Bulk Barn in the neighbourhood.

The other big request I get from readers is more recipes with protein powders. Here’s where I don’t feel guilty. I don’t mind protein powder and totally used to be a protein powder fiend but it’s just not something that has a huge presence in my life anymore. On occasion I’ll throw it into a smoothie or into oatmeal or bars but I’m not about to throw the word “protein” in every title of every recipe I post. It has nothing to do with the taste of protein powder or the idea behind it – I think if you like the taste and need more protein then you do you – it’s more that I just don’t need to use it. I don’t find myself needing ALL THE PROTEIN to survive and sometimes I actually feel kind of sick if I eat too much protein.

But for you guys, I’ll make an exception. These bars have 9 grams of protein in each one (depending on the protein powder you use), are full of natural, healthy ingredients, and even better, they don’t require a food processor! C and I, and my Barre ladies loved them. They kind of taste like chewy bars but without all of the gunk.

These Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Chip Protein Granola Bars are actually easier to make than my usual no-bake food processor variety and it totally doesn’t hurt that there’s a nice protein kick in them. The lesson learned here is that maybe I should start listening to all of you a little more!