Cake Batter Protein Bars (with endless variations)!

Holy Moly these are amazing!

I made a whole pan of these before a road trip and I just wished I had made more- they were gone the next day.

I got the recipe here, but changed it a bit (see below). I loved that my son who hates oatmeal is getting the whole, raw, oats (ground up) in these without even knowing it! I did put a few sprinkles on top so they would appeal even more to my son, although next time I will be using the naturally colored kind that I just saw at Whole Foods!

3 cups brown rice crispies
1 cup packed oat flour (ground in my Vita Mix from oat groats, or blend in your blender from rolled oats)
1/2 cup protein powder (Garden of Life Raw Vanilla- the best! Or just put in oat flour here)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla (alcohol free kind, from Trader Joe's)
3/4 cup raw almond butter (or other nut butter)
3/4 cup sticky sweetener (I have been using 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup raw honey)
(I have been adding in a couple tablespoons of ground flax seed, and wheat germ lately and they are still great!)
Add ins/Variations: see note below

Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately. Then pour the dry into the wet and combine really well. Press into a rectangular pan lined with parchment paper (for easy removal). Chill, then cut into bars.  I keep mine in the freezer individually wrapped and take out whenever I want one (they are so nice straight from the freezer- a perfectly chewy texture). Yum!

Update July 2014: I wanted to use less sweetener, so I substituted 1/4 coconut oil for 1/4 of the sweetener. So I ended up using: 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup raw honey (instead of 3/4 cup sweetener).

Note: We have been experimenting with lots of different kinds of bars lately, so here is what we love so far. Let me know what you come up with too!

Sprinkle bars: Top with naturally colored sprinkles
*Strawberry bars: Add 1 1/2 cups freeze-dried strawberries (chopped)
Tropical bars: Add 1 cup freeze-dried mangoes (chopped) and 1/2 cup coconut
Fruity bars: Add 1 1/2 cups of any of your favorite freeze-dried or regular dried fruit!
Cinnamon bars: Add 2 Tbsp cinnamon
Chocolate chip bars: Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Luna bars: Make chocolate (from coconut oil recipe here) and pour over the top of chilled bars in pan (uncut). After chilled and set, remove and cut.

*Update: My son just requested a Strawberry Bar Cake for his birthday! (For the frosting I will be adding chocolate from my coconut oil recipe on top and of course some naturally colored sprinkles). To see what I came up with for his cake, click here.

Berry Cobbler Bites (with garbanzo beans, and vegan too!)

My son has stopped eating most grains, even his usual staples of rice & toast, but will eat muffins, so I'm trying to get as many muffins going as I can, especially with hidden ingredients such as beans (since he won't eat them plain or in other dishes).

So, I just made these vegan Blueberry Muffins. I omitted the streusel (since my son would just eat that and not the muffin), and instead of sugar, used  2/3 cup raw honey with a tiny pinch of Stevia. I also used 1 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/2 cup white flour (instead of 1 1/2 cups white). They turned out great! But they are not really muffins. They taste like berry cobbler! You could add any kind of berry and it would be delicious. You could probably add peaches too. Yummm....

So here is my version, which I call:

Berry Cobbler Bites

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup raw honey
1/2 cup garbanzo bean puree
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used Sprouted whole wheat)
1/2 cup white flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup almond milk, curdled with 1 teaspoon white vinegar
10 ounces frozen wild blueberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine coconut oil, honey, garbanzo bean puree, and apple sauce, and beat together well. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Beat together just until combined. Add the curdled almond milk and beat once more. Fold in the blueberries and spoon into muffin cups (3/4 full).
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown (they will be a bit soft and doughy- that is normal, remember these are cobbler bites, not muffins. And no worries about not being cooked enough- they don't have eggs, remember?).
These are great warm from the oven. :)