I mentioned last week that one of my current goals is to challenge myself to make more things from scratch. As we’re eating lots of protein bars as part of P90X, I wanted to see if I could create a yummy, healthful and nutritious protein bar from scratch.
After scouring the internet for recipes, I ended up tweaking a recipe I found on the P90X forums. The result was the following recipe, which every single person in our family has dubbed as delicious.
Homemade Protein Bars
- 1 mashed banana
- 1 1/2 cups dry oatmeal
- 2 Tablespoons flax seed, ground
- 2-4 scoops protein powder
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 large chocolate bar (I used organic dark chocolate) or 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Mix all ingredients but chocolate together well (mixture will be somewhat sticky). Line an 8×8-inch pan with foil and spread the mixture evenly in the pan. Melt chocolate on the stove or in the microwave. Drizzle or spread over the mixture in the pan.
Place the pan in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Cut into 10 -12 bars and wrap in plastic wrap and/or foil and store in the freezer.
Thaw slightly before serving.
1/1oth of this recipe = approximately 260 calories and 11 to 13 grams of protein (depending upon how much protein powder you use, per Calorie Count.)
I’m also planning to try Lindsey’s protein bar recipe soon, as well, as it looks like a winner, too!
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{ 76 comments... read them below or add one }
Oh- I love, love, love that you posted this! We just got our P90x system today and were just discussing the food so that we can have everything in order to get started!
This is PERFECT and sounds super yummy. Keep these recipes comin’ Crystal
@Cassie From The Thrifty Couple,
You are going to love P90X! My husband and I just finished our second round and are starting a third on Friday since we’re addicted LOL
If you’re on Facebook feel free to friend request me : )
Jen Block
@Jen, Which Jen Block?
@Jen, You can email me at thriftycas@thethriftycouple.com with your FB link as it would be fun to have a P90x buddy
@Cassie From The Thrifty Couple,
Just sent you an email : )
I’ve had problems with granola bar recipes sticking to the pan even with parchment paper on the bottom. For a while I gave up on making my own. It’s no fun to try jack hammer those bars. Any tips to prevent the sticking?
I didn’t have any problem with this recipe when I used foil as it’s a pretty soft bar. You could try greasing the foil or spraying it with Pam, if you still have trouble, though.
so excited for this, but wondering if i can substitute anything for the coconut or just leave it out? hubby is not a fan of coconut and he is the one who will eat most of these!!
I think you could just leave it out. I added it in since we had some on hand and no one noticed — and most of our family isn’t fond of coconut!
@wolf,
we make lindsey’s protein bars all the time, and the coconut isn’t noticeable at all.
whoops, forgot to say hope that helps. they’re really yummy!
I will be trying this out very soon! Thanks for posting! I recently made homemade granola bars, so I’m hooked
What kind of protein powder did you use? We drink a chocolate soy protein powder from Whole Foods and I wonder if it would taste good or be too chocolatey.
I am so excited to try this recipe. I have been looking at recipes for the last week. We are on day 12 of p90x and I haven’t found any good protein bars yet. Thanks!!!
This is great! Thank you.
These sound yummy! Do you know about how many carbs are in one?
@Falecia,
Im no expert, but according to the calorie counter (you input the ingredients and it analyzes the recipe for nutritional information) there are 14.5 carbs if you cut into 12 bars, and 17.4 carbs if cut into 10 bars! That is using an 8oz (is that large?) dark chocolate bar. Using regular chocolate chips adds about 4 carbs to the above numbers. Hope that helps!
P90X? Haven’t tried it–but am interested in the protein bars. Doing medifast and anything will help that’s full of protein
Another good use for bananas being ignored on the counter, and I just saw a big box of flax seed at my Super Wal-mart for about $2. The rest is usually in the pantry (sans the coconut, but a good way to sneak in coconut, too. It’s really good for your hair). Good job!
BTW, I cooked, rinsed and drained 3 lbs. of ground beef yesterday and separated it into 3 containers. I added water to the two I put in the freezer to use for other meals. I also made 3 batches of meatballs over the weekend, freezing 2 of the batches to make meatball subs or add to spaghetti (not quite on the P90X menu).
@Daisy,
Daisy, I also freeze cooked ground meat but haven’t had any problems not adding water. I’ve tons of the containers sandwich meat comes in and I fill each up, let cool or immediately freeze. When I use I thaw slightly by micro or in fridge overnight then add to whatever.
Yummy! Healthy!
awesome!! the bars they provide have like 20-22g of protein so i might have to 2x the protein powder to get my hubby to buy into a homemade version. yum!
Yes, most of the homemade versions I found had around 6 to 8 grams of protein, so I was happy to figure out one that was higher. I think you could pretty easily add more protein powder to up the grams of protein.
I am excited to try this one too, I have a bar I make to support my milk production but I after four months I could go for a change.
@Celia, I’d be interested in your milk production boosting recipe! Could you please send it to me at couponerklipper@gmail.com
@Doreen,
I added a link further down to my recipe.
May I ask what’s in your bar? Curious what you put in it for “milk production”. I’m a nursing mama and ALWAYS hungry!
Thanks!
@alyssa,
I added a link further down to my recipe.
Did you use regular oatmeal or instant?
I used regular oatmeal, but either should work.
This looks great but I have to watch my carbs. Any idea on the amount of carbs per serving?
Me, too. I’d like to know the carb count.
What kind of protein powder do you use? I find all the options a bit overwhelming.
These sound delish! Thank you so much for sharing. Now to gather up the ingredients over my next few shopping trips so I can make a batch.
We were just looking at protein bars at Costco last night. One package cost $1.91 a bar!! I’m not sure what was in it. Gold, perhaps? This recipe sounds terrific, although to avoid a mess I would probably add chocolate chips to the mix instead of spreading it on top. Thanks for the post!
also there are a bunch of recipes for homemade Lara bars out there. I don’t know if these would be helpful to the P90x, but they are sure yummy and healthy! Mostly just dates and nuts.
Any way to make these under 200 calories?
@Shelley, Not completely sure, but I’d guess getting rid of the chocolate topping would get you considerably closer to 200 calories. It seems like most all of the other ingredients are pretty important to making the bar turn out well. Or you could making the serving smaller by cutting it so the rows are 3 by 4 (217 cal) or 4 by 4 (163 cal).
These look delicious! I also work out a lot and generally just buy protein bars and make smoothies, but I really want to try making these since it doesn’t look too hard
.
What kind of protein powder did you use?
I am so excited to try this! As a vegan, there aren’t as many protein bars on the market to fit my needs. But this sounds perfect, for my diet and my budget. Thank you!
Hi Crystal,
I think these protein bars sound great, but I’m wondering where you buy the protein powder. Do you have to buy it at a health food store, or is it available at someplace like a WalMart Super Center?
Thanks so much for all of your great info!
@Laurel Milam, I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I drink Designer Whey from my local grocery store. When picking out protein powder make sure you check the fat content. Several have only 2g which is great. Muscle Milk and others have a lot of fat… that’s why they taste so good! They are great for body builders, but not so great for the rest of us. There is a coupon available here for Designer Whey: http://www.designerwhey.com/promotions.htm
We’ve been using Optimum Nutrition Protein Powder which we order off of Amazon.com with Swagbucks.
@Crystal,
Nutiva brand also has Hemp Protein is plant-base protein
https://store.nutiva.com/hemp-protein/
This looks like a great recipe! I was wondering how it would effect someone’s glucose level? My husband has Type II Diabetes and Stage 1 Renal Failure (which he can sustain and live a long happy life if he keeps his blood sugar under better control). It doesn’t appear to have to much sugar, do you know the exact carb and fiber count?
@Kimberly,
Unfortunately the only way to determine the real effects on blood sugar is to make a batch, serve one portion and then check his blood glucose levels at one and two hours after eating.
I understand your concerns as this is a real issue for my daughter (Type I); things that the diabetic counselors told us were fine turned out to NOT be fine according to her blood sugar. I’m not faulting the counselors at all. I’m just saying we did our own verification on the way foods would impact dd. Since she was diagnosed so young, we really wanted to be aware so informed choices could be made to help minimize long term effects of the diabetes.
The two ingredients in this recipe that give me pause for my daughter, and potentially others with blood sugar control issues, would be the banana and the oatmeal; both of those *can* drive blood sugar levels way up although you won’t know unless you check. Even the ripeness of the banana and the form of the oats (e.g., instant vs long cooking) are variables in the impact on blood sugar.
But I would certainly give it a try to see what happens!
Thanks for the post and recipe! I was wondering what the approximate cost for these were. Just wanted to make sure that if I decided to try to venture out and make them, it would save some money too- they look delicious!
I’m not sure on costs as it would depend upon which ingredients you used. I used items we already had on hand. I’m guessing they could easily be made for around $0.50 or less per bar. If anyone has a better estimate of costs, I’d love to hear!
These look very yummy. I will have to try them.
I tried to click onto Lindsey’s protein bar recipe and got an error message. Lindsey, if you are out there, I would love for you to email your recipe! Thanks bunches!
i’m not lindsay, but since i love that recipe, i had to respond.
it’s working for me, but if you still can’t get it to work, see if this works: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/11/nourishing-protein-bars-a-great-whole-foods-snack.html
@Linda,
linda, here’s the direct link: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/11/nourishing-protein-bars-a-great-whole-foods-snack.html
Her blog is passionatehomemaking.com. She has lots of great recipes!
Did that work? I tried to link to my post with the recipe.
http://breederbeware.blogspot.com/2010/05/granola-bars.html
I just watched an episode of Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” tv show last night. He made a healthy protein bar – no butter, but no chocolate either, I don’t think. Maybe it’d be worth a gander. Here’s one of his recipes…but it’s not the one I saw: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/protein-bars-recipe/index.html
Thanks for sharing! I’m excited to try out this recipe. What flavor protein powder? My husband takes his lunch and likes to take a bar or two with him. Is there a reason you keep it frozen until right before serving?
Those look delicious! Much better than any protein bar I’ve seen in the store! Will have to try this.
Mary Ellen
Yum. Those look great. I’m definitely saving these in my bookmark list for when we go grocery shopping next.
Thanks for the recipe, btw
Wow-weee! Those look good! I am going to have to make those next week.
I’ve tried making homemade granola bars before with uncooked, raw oatmeal but it ends up making us have stomach pains, and some family members um….gassy. more stomach pains though. did you find that was the case or do you have a way to overcome that?
We eat a lot of fiber in our diet, so we haven’t had issues with raw oatmeal.
Thanks for the recipe…have tried protein bars before and they were yuck. I have decided anything that has to be cooked is not that good, so excited to try these. I have an awesome granola bar recipe that my family of 5 will polish off a double batch in a week. (It does have honey and brown sugar but way better than any store bought granola bar). I am new to the site and hoping that you will share more about your P90x experience. I have heard a lot about it and hoping you will share results as you go through it. Maybe something my husband and I could try….
Think I might leave out the raisins and chocolate to cut down on the calories. Would this make them totally inedible, like Luna bars without the yummy dipped bottom??
For those who love the brand Nutiva Coconut Oil, they also have Hemp Protein a plant-base protein,
https://store.nutiva.com/hemp-protein/
Hi – anyone know how long these will keep and whether they’ll store in the freezer? I’d love to make these once a month =)
I don’t have any protein powder. I haven’t yet learned about it or know which brands to get. I did see ladies posted which brands they use.
Is there something that can be substituted for the protein powder? or can it be left out?
@Priscilla, We use GNLD’s all-purpose protein, which has no flavor and can easily be added to any food, including baked goods. It’s a great way to boost protein… and I love it especially when I’m pregnant and trying to compensate for the additional protein needs. And it’s one of the only protein powders available with all 22 amino acids. Very cool. Let me know if you’d like more information about it.
I just made my first batch. I added thinly sliced almonds in the mix and left out the raisins. I also sprinkled some almonds on top. They look and taste delicious. My teenage daughter even liked them. I had no problem with them sticking to the foil at all. I used Jillian Michaels vanilla protein powder from walmart. I’m sure chocolate would’ve been great too. Maybe next time.
another thing to add are dates.
We made Lindsay’s protein bars a couple of weeks ago and LOVED them! I’m always up for a protein pick-me-up in the afternoon and your recipe looks great, too!
I don’t know what your specific plan allows, but I’ve made Alton Brown’s bars a few times and they’re really good as well.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/protein-bars-recipe/index.html
Thanks so much!
My youngest son is allergic to peanuts so I will be trying these with almond butter instead of the peanut butter….very interested to see how these turn out! Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for this one – we have protein powder that we can’t stomach in the smoothies, maybe this will work so the money spent on it doesn’t go to waste.
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