No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bars

So I'm really quite excited! I recently teamed up with the Canadian company North Coast Naturals to develop some tasty new recipes using their products. I've been working very hard testing out my first recipe for these energy bars and I just couldn't wait to finally share them with you!

For my first recipe trial I wanted to make an energy+protein bar that I could feel good about eating and would help fuel me through my workouts.

Enter the No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bar.

I used North Coast Natural's vanilla 100% Iso-Protein Powder to give them a good hit of protein and nutrition. I love that this protein powder is all natural and has no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colours or flavours. It's naturally sweetend with low-glycemic stevia and blends well in smoothies - no chalky taste at all. It really does taste great! Trust me, I wouldn't candy-coat the truth. I love how it tasted in these bars too. Next time I'm thinking of trying the chocolate Iso-Protein in these bars. Chocolate and peanut butter were made to go together!

Now there's 2 kinds of protein/energy bars that I like. First there's the cakey kind. And then secondly, there's the chewy kind. These are a bit of a mix between the two. They're soft and chewy, but still have some crumbliness going on. Perfection in bar form if I do say so myself.

I've been trying these as pre-workout snacks before going to the gym to lift weights. They're satiating and have just the right amount of carbs and protein. The best part is you know exactly what went into them. You get about 300 calories, 15 grams of protein, and 28 grams of clean carbohydrates. Plus they're delicious! They also make a perfect on-the-run to-go breakfast.

Happy lifting, friends!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bars Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan option | Yields 12 bars

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup, or agave, coconut nectar, honey
• 2 tbsp coconut butter
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used North Coast Naturals Vanilla Iso-Protein)
• 1/2 cup raisins, or other dried fruit
• 1/4 cup roasted pepitas
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Instructions:

1. Place oats, protein powder, raisins, pepitas and slivered almonds in a large bowl; mix to combine.
2. Warm peanut butter and maple syrup in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Pour over oat mixture and mix well to combine.
3. Press into an 8x8-inch-square pan lined with parchment paper so the bars will lift out easily. Press the mixture down until evenly flattended. Let cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour to harden.
4. Cut into 12 bars. Keep refrigerated.

Notes:

• North Coast Naturals Iso-Protein is not vegan.
• To make this nut-free try using sunflower seed butter or tahini and replace the slivered almonds with extra toasted pepitas.

Nutritional Information:

Serving Size: 1 bar Calories: 337 Fat: 19g Saturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 14mg Carbohydrates: 28g Sugar: 14g Fiber: 5g Protein: 15g

Vanilla Bean Almond Butter

If there was one food item you couldn't live without, what would it be?

That's a tough question. I think I would have a hard time living without my collection of nut butters. 

Yes I said collection. I really must take a picture to show you one of these days.

One of my forever all-time favourite's is the maple cinnamon almond butter I make. Anyone I give it to dies and goes to heaven.

...and then asks for the recipe. hehe. It's a winner that's for sure.

Anyway, I got to thinking and I realized that I don't really have many nut butter's in my recipe collection here on the blog, which isn't very fitting seeing how much I love the stuff. Healthy fats are delicious you know.

So I've sworn to myself that I'm going to come up with many more nut butter recipes. From almond to peanut, and sunflower to hazelnut, you name it.

Today I've got an almond butter recipe that's got a pretty simple list of ingredients. Raw almonds that we roast for extra flavour (let's face it roasting makes everything better), a bit of sugar, pure vanilla extract, and a pinch a sea salt to round out the flavours.

Here's a quick 4 step example of what your almonds should look like on their road to becoming almond butter.

I could eat this all day long. Of course one of my favourite ways to enjoy any nut butter is on my oatmeal. Don't knock it until you try it. I've even got my relatives from England putting peanut butter on their oats and granola now. My second favourite way is straight off the spoon.

If you want to make an almond taste better, this is the way to do it.

Vanilla Bean Almond Butter gluten free, vegan, vegetarian | makes about 1 1/2 cups

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1 tbsp cane sugar (or other unrefined sugar)
• 1 vanilla bean, slit lengthwise and all seeds scraped out (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and roast them for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant and golden, stirring once during roasting.
3. Remove from oven and let the nuts cool for a few minutes, then place them in the bowl of your food processor. Process until you get a smooth and creamy nut butter to form; about 12-15 minutes. Scrape down the bowl of the food processor as necessary.
4. Add in the sugar, vanilla bean seeds (or extract), and sea salt. Process again to combine everything until incorporated.
5. Store in an air-tight jar or container. 

*Tips*

• Don't let the almonds cool down too much before processing. They are easier to turn into nut butter while they are still warm.
• I like to scrape down the food processor every few minutes or so to scrape down the sides and help the almonds along.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 2 tbsp Calories: 164 Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 60mg Carbohydrates: 7.7g Sugar: 3g Fiber: 3g Protein: 6g