Protein Bar Recipe

After posting pictures of my homemade protein bars last night, I had quite a few recipe requests! So here it is :) I used homemade almond butter in mine!

 

Protein Bars

Ingredients

¼ c organic cane sugar

¼ c water

½ c Almond Butter (preferably homemade – no added sugar/oil/salt)

1c water

½ c vanilla protein powder

1tbs vanilla extract

1tsp dark chocolate cocoa powder

½ tsp cinnamon

1 ½ c quick oats

¼ c flax meal

¼ c raisins

Loaf Pan

Saran/Cling Wrap

Directions

In small sauce pan, whisk together cane sugar and ¼ c water over high heat. Bring to a boil; once all sugar is dissolved, turn off heat and set aside.

In medium sauce pan, whisk together almond butter and 1c water over medium heat. Once combined, add protein powder, vanilla, cocoa powder and cinnamon and whisk thoroughly. Add cane sugar syrup and again whisk until combined. Mixture should be gooey but pourable. If necessary, thin with additional water or thicken with additional protein (small amounts at a time!)

Combine oats, flax and raisins in large bowl. Pour almond butter sauce over oats and combine with spatula or spoon.

Line loaf pan with saran wrap and pour mixture into pan, pressing firmly into all sides. Cover with wrap, pressing directly onto mixture and refrigerate overnight.

Once set, flip pan over to remove mixture, peel off plastic wrap and slice – mine made 10 bars.

 

Update :) 6/25/13

Oh heeey! I know it's been a long time since my last post but I'll tell ya, it's hard out here for a pimp! Not really, I'm just busy :) As I mentioned in my previous post, I started a new job at a fantastic catering company and working there on top of school plus spending the time that I can with Nora and everything else in life has me pretty well occupied! I just happen to have a spare 40 minutes or so, so I thought I'd throw an update together!

I've gotten myself into a really great routine with my workouts! I was going strong for a solid month without missing a workout and even getting in a few 2-a-days when time permitted but, alas, the week of my birthday I slacked a bit and missed quite a lot. I was disappointed with myself for that but it also gave me an opportunity to take a step back, look at my goals and what I was doing and create a new workout plan. So I did! My new schedule is as follows:
Monday: Biceps/Triceps/Shoulders
Tuesday: Quads/Glutes
Wednesday: Chest/Shoulders
Thursday: Back
Friday: Hamstrings/Calves

I had my Monday workout yesterday (obviously) and did today's workout and dammit I feel AWESOME! I pushed really hard and I'm really proud of myself. I love waking up in the morning and being sore, knowing that that soreness is progress. I'm still struggling a bit with cardio, but I know I am just going to have to force myself into it. I just love lifting so much! But I'll never get this layer of fat off of my beautifully developing muscles if I don't do it, so I'm going to get back into a solid cardio routine. At least it's nice outside so I can go run! As I'm sure you've all seen, I've gotten into the habit of posting all of my workouts on Facebook and Instagram - not just for me to 'show off' but to use as a source of accountability for myself and hopefully motivation for someone else. :)
Nutrition has also continued to be a point of difficulty. The summer months always present so much temptation with all of the cookouts and delicious cocktails and I would be lying if I said I haven't given in to the temptations around me a few times. I am an avid believer of enjoying your life as you go on your journey to health/fitness... but I may be taking advantage of that belief a bit too much :/ which is also on my list of things to work on. My biggest issue right now is my schedule... Being in the culinary industry, we don't get standard breaks while working or whatever and I spend the majority of my time in a kitchen.. so I end up just snacking on whatever I'm cooking (leftovers, etc) when I'm at work, and it's not always the best option. I'm working on something to try to make the best of the situation but it's still a struggle at this point. I think it's mostly in my brain... I just need to lock it up.

Here's a current photo:

Anywho, it's about time for me to run to class! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.. I don't have any specific recipes on hand to share BUT if anyone has any recipe requests or questions about anything, feel free to email me at thelosingpath@hotmail.com or via Facebook at Ali's Losing Path!

Thanks for stopping by! Be happy and healthy, my friends! :)