Will Grapple for Food

Welcome to a new feature on my training blog: Steve Cooks. I enjoy cooking. I'm a much better cook than baker, though. I've been told that it's because I tend to make things up as I go. I have no problem adding more of things I like and less of things I don't. I also watch way too much Food Network for my own good.

My criteria for a good recipe is simple. It must be easy, delicious and relatively good for me (and the family). Right now, I'm working on finding a good protein/breakfast bar recipe. I eat at least one every day, sometimes two. After class if I'm hungry, in the morning between breakfast and lunch... second breakfast or elevensies, if you will. I try to avoid any unnecessary sugars and if you've looked at all at the breakfast/protein bar selection, you know that this isn't so easy to do. Most protein bars are little better than a snickers bar. Both are covered in chocolate and both satisfy.

I kind of like the Organic Food Bars, specifically the Omega and the Active Greens. What I like about these bars is that everything in them is recognizable as food: fruits, nuts and oils. What I don't like is that they're about $2.50 per bar.

My first foray into the protein bar world is a simple recipe I found through Google. I said, "Google. How do I make my own protein bar?" Then I pressed the "I feel lucky" button and VOILA!

How to Make Your Own Protein Bar:

I made a few changes from the website instructions.

• 3 1/2 Cups Oats (the recipe calls for quick oats, but I hate those. I used regular rolled oats)
• 1 1/2 Cups powdered non-fat milk
• 4 scoops low carb chocolate protein powder (I used Designer Whey: Double Chocolate Flavor)
• 1 Cup pure Maple Syrup
  
• 2 Egg Whites, beaten
• 1/4 cup Orange Juice (I used pulp free)
• 1 tspn Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Cup natural Applesauce.

I mixed the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another, then added the wet to the dry and baked them at 325F for about 30 minutes, til they passed the toothpick test.

After letting them cool in the pan and then cutting them up, I ended up with something that looks like this:

Overall, these weren't bad, but are actually on the sweet side for me. I don't have a real sweet tooth, but these were pretty tasty. You can really taste the syrup. If I were to make this again, I'd try a vanilla protein mix, rather than the chocolate.




In this picture, I think you can get a better sense of the texture.
I liked this part of it. It wasn't gooey or slimy. The texture was firm, not too sticky and kind of like a very dense biscuit.

Overall, I would call this a successful recipe. I'm not sure if I would make it again, because it's a little sweet for my taste. I'm going to be on the look out for something less sugary for my next installment.


Ratings (out of 5 stars):

Texture: ****
Flavor: **
Ease of Prep: ****
Overall: *** 1/2