Jenn's Natural Protein Bars

A friend of mine is currently on the South Beach diet and is having great success.  In fact,  I'd even say that she's enjoying it.  ; )  I'm so proud of her!  Anyway, she was interested in my running protein bar recipe I posted the other day but was curious as to if it could be modified to be more South Beach friendly.  This would mean replacing the Jif PB and the honey with natural PB and agave syrup.  I felt like needed to figure out these modifications myself.  Oh, darn!  ; )

It turned out that some measurement modifications were necessary, but I think it was for the better.  The natural PB is a much sturdier PB and I couldn't get near the amount of oats stirred in, which means less carbs.  The fewer carbs the better in my opinion.

Here's what I came up with today...

Jenn's Natural Protein Bars

(South Beach Friendly)

Ingredients

1 cup natural creamy peanut butter 

(I used Trader Joe's PB. Ingredients: Peanuts, salt)

1/2 cup agave syrup (I used TJ's)*

1 1/4 cups protein powder (I used GNC)** 

1/3 cup quick oats (I used Walmart's Great Value)

2 Tbsp. flax seed (Whole Foods)

Directions

Microwave peanut butter and agave syrup in a microwave-safe bowl for about a minute. 

Stir well and add protein powder and flax seed until well blended.  

Add oats and stir well.

Mix might be kind of crumbly.  

Pour mixture into a lightly pammed 8x8 pan and pack mix down. 

Chill for about an hour and cut into bars. 

I get up to 36 bars out of this recipe.  

They are small, but are rich and filling

These freeze well!

I took these protein bars (along with non-diet friendly items) to a "girly party" tonight with a bunch of girlfriends.  Not only were these things disappearing, but they were disappearing FAST. The women loved them and couldn't believe they had protein powder in them.  Several women asked me for the recipe.  

Moral of the story: I should probably be more confident about my "healthy" creations and encourage others to be healthy with me.