PP bars are an excellent alternative to store-bought sweets. They are easy to prepare at home from readily available ingredients. Healthy snacks usually include grains, nuts, dried fruits and honey. You can also supplement the bars with fresh berries and fruits.
The formula of an ideal PP bar is as follows: 50% cereals, 40% dried fruits, fresh berries or nuts, and 10% various additives - cocoa, seeds, coconut flakes. The products are prepared in two ways - baked in the oven or simply cooled in the refrigerator.
The bars store well in cling film or parchment paper at room temperature. They are easy to transport, so they are suitable as a snack during training or on the road.
Homemade cereal bar does not contain white sugar, preservatives, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers or sweeteners.
It consists of natural ingredients, so its benefits are undeniable:
- contains vitamins and fiber;
- improves digestion;
- provides a long-lasting feeling of satiety;
- replenishes energy reserves;
- suitable as a snack.
Often PP bars are supplemented with natural vegetable oils. They act as a connecting element between the components, providing the product with a dense consistency. In addition, oils contain natural fats and essential amino acids that are beneficial for the body.
Since the bars contain a large amount of carbohydrates, they are quite high in calories, so they are best consumed in the first half of the day . The average calorie content of a bar consisting of cereals, nuts and dried fruits is 300-400 kcal per 100 g.
Nutritional value per 100 g of product:
Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
5-8 g | 7-10 g | 35-40 g |
Oatmeal nutrition bars
Crispy bars made from affordable ingredients. The apple and raisins in the composition make the finished products juicy, and the spices add a light spicy aroma.
Ingredients
- finely ground oat flakes – 70 g;
- green apple – 1 pc.;
- honey – 40 ml;
- melted butter – 50 g;
- whole grain flour – 70 g;
- raisins – 40 g;
- ground ginger – 3 g;
- cinnamon – 3 g;
- salt - to taste.
Calorie content of the finished product: 180 kcal per 100 g.
Step-by-step cooking process
- The apple must be peeled and grated on a coarse grater.
- Raisins should be poured with boiling water for 15-20 minutes.
- Honey needs to be melted in a water bath or in a microwave oven.
- In a separate container, combine liquid honey, warm butter, oatmeal and grated apple, then mix everything thoroughly.
- To the resulting mass you need to add ginger, cinnamon, a pinch of salt and whole grain flour. The dough should be quite tight and sticky.
- The baking tray should be greased with oiled baking paper. The resulting mass should be evenly distributed over the surface of the parchment using a silicone spatula.
- The oven must be preheated to 180C and a baking sheet with the preparation must be placed in it for 20-25 minutes.
- The baked cake should be cut into bars and cooled well.
What can I add?
You can add 1 tbsp to the dough of the bars. l. lemon or orange zest.
How to serve a dish
Homemade PP bars are served as a dessert with tea or coffee.
Oat bars with dried fruits
Healthy bars with dried fruits can be prepared without the oven. Just chop all the ingredients, mix and put in the refrigerator for a while.
Ingredients
- 150 g short-cooked oatmeal;
- 40 ml honey;
- 60 g dates;
- 50 g raisins;
- 50 g dried apricots;
- 60 g walnuts;
- 30 g flax seeds;
- 30 g sesame seeds;
- 30 ml lemon juice.
Calorie content of the finished product: 330 kcal per 100 g.
Walnuts can be replaced with almonds, cashews or peanuts.
Step-by-step cooking process
- Oatmeal should be fried in a dry frying pan until golden brown.
- Walnuts should be chopped with a knife.
- Honey needs to be melted in the microwave.
- Place dates, raisins, dried apricots, honey and lemon juice into a blender bowl, then blend until smooth.
- Chopped nuts, sesame and flax seeds, as well as oatmeal should be added to the resulting mass. The mixture must be thoroughly kneaded by hand.
- A layer 7-8 mm thick should be formed from the resulting mass.
- The workpiece should be wrapped in cling film and placed in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
What can I add?
Ready-made bars can be rolled in coconut or cocoa.
How to serve a dish
The frozen layer is cut into portioned bars. They can be eaten as a snack or dessert. Ideal with herbal tea.
Chocolate almond bars with honey
Homemade PP bars are an excellent alternative to store-bought sweets. A successful combination of dark chocolate, almonds, oatmeal and dried fruits will delight those who have abandoned store-bought sweets in favor of a beautiful figure.
Ingredients
- oat flakes – 120 g;
- dates – 90 g;
- almonds – 70 g;
- dark chocolate – 100 g;
- coconut flakes – 50 g;
- oat milk – 100 ml;
- peanut butter – 40 ml;
- coconut oil – 40 g;
- honey – 40 ml;
- cocoa powder – 30 g.
Calorie content of bars per 100 g: 380 kcal.
Step-by-step cooking recipe
- Dates should be soaked in water for 30-60 minutes.
- Nuts and chocolate must be finely chopped with a knife.
- Place oatmeal, coconut oil, peanut butter and oat milk in a blender bowl and then blend until smooth.
- In a deep bowl, combine cocoa powder, honey, coconut flakes and crushed mass from a blender, then mix everything thoroughly with your hands.
- From the resulting mass it is necessary to form a layer 7-8 mm thick and place it in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
How to serve a dish
The cooled layer is cut into rectangles and rolled in coconut flakes.
Fig and chocolate bars
Ingredients:
- 200 g dried figs
- 125 ml water
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tablespoons chopped chocolate
Cover the figs with water in a large bowl and microwave on full power for 1 minute. Then let it cool for a couple of minutes and mix with water in a blender. Bring the mixture until smooth and cool to room temperature. Then add cocoa, oatmeal and protein powder to the mixture. Mix well and add chopped chocolate. Mix everything again and roll into small balls. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator.
PP Snickers bars
The popular Snickers can be prepared at home. This bar does not contain harmful trans fats, sugar or emulsifiers. It can be consumed even by those who are on a diet.
Ingredients
- roasted peanuts – 100 g;
- large dates – 15 pcs.;
- peanut butter – 50 g;
- dark chocolate – 100 g.
If desired, dark chocolate can be replaced with milk chocolate.
PP Snickers bars
Calorie content of the finished dish per 100 g: 360 kcal.
Step-by-step cooking process
- Dates must first be soaked in water for 30-40 minutes.
- Grind 70 g of peanuts and dates in a blender bowl until smooth.
- From the resulting mixture, form an even number of small cakes 5-7 mm thick and place in the freezer for 15 minutes, then remove and continue cooking.
- One of the cakes needs to be greased with peanut butter, put 7-8 pieces. peanuts and cover with a second tortilla, forming oblong bars.
- Dark chocolate must be melted in a water bath and each bar should be dipped into it so that the chocolate mass completely covers the surface of the products.
- Ready bars should be placed in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
How to serve a dish
The bars go great with hot coffee or cappuccino.
Nut and berry bars
These bars can be made from any dried or fresh berries.
Ingredients
- cashews – 140 g;
- dried figs – 150 g;
- dried cranberries – 150 g;
- pumpkin seeds – 30 g;
- coconut flakes – 20 g;
- coconut oil – 20 g.
Calorie content of bars per 100 g: 335 kcal.
Step-by-step cooking process
- Cashews and pumpkin seeds need to be soaked in water overnight.
- Dried figs, cranberries, nuts and pumpkin seeds must be passed through a meat grinder. You can also use a blender for grinding.
- You need to add coconut flakes to the finished mixture.
- Form a ball from the resulting mass, then place it between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out with a rolling pin into a layer of 8 mm.
- The formed layer must be transferred to a hard surface - a board or tray, and placed in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- After cooling, the layer must be cut into rectangles or diamonds.
How to serve a dish
The finished bars are wrapped in parchment paper. The products are served with tea or coffee. The bars are also convenient to take on the road for a snack.
Protein bar Bounty
For lovers of exotic and unusual products, this version of a coconut-based bar is ideal. For this interesting recipe you need the following ingredients:
- ⅓ cup coconut flakes. Be careful, because you need to use low-fat shavings in this recipe.
- ⅓ cup coconut flour. It can be made from coconut flakes if you don't have any. Or replace it with almond.
- ⅓ low-fat milk. By the way, lovers of everything coconut can even use coconut milk.
- ¾ cup of any protein.
Mix all the ingredients, form into bars and place in the refrigerator.
Photo: instagram.com/ann_biss_
Oat bars with dried cherries
Homemade PP bars made with dried cherries are an excellent healthy snack option.
Ingredients
- instant oat flakes – 200 g;
- almonds – 30 g;
- coconut flakes – 60 g;
- dried cherries – 100 g;
- coconut oil – 50 g;
- honey – 70 ml;
- salt - to taste.
Almonds can be replaced with cashews or hazelnuts.
Calorie content 100 g: 190 kcal.
Step-by-step cooking process
- Oatmeal should be ground using a coffee grinder or blender.
- Almonds should be finely chopped with a knife.
- Chopped flakes and almonds must be combined with coconut flakes and dried cherries.
- If the honey is frozen, it should be melted in the microwave. Coconut oil must be melted in a water bath.
- Melted honey and coconut oil should be placed in a container with the dry ingredients, mixed thoroughly and seasoned with salt.
- The prepared mass must be placed on a baking sheet, forming a thin layer. The workpiece should be placed in the refrigerator to harden for 2 hours.
- The cooled layer should be cut into rectangles.
What can I add?
You can add 50 g of raisins or dried cranberries to the bars.
How to serve a dish
The bars are served with tea or coffee. They can be rolled in cocoa, coconut or sesame seeds.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bar
Ingredients:
- 1 cup peanut butter;
- ⅔ cup brown sugar;
- ½ teaspoon baking powder;
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or a pinch of vanillin;
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds;
- 1 large egg at room temperature;
- ½ cup chopped dark chocolate;
- ⅓ cup of coarse oatmeal;
- a pinch of salt.
Preparation
Combine peanut butter, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and mix until smooth. Then add the seeds, vanilla extract, egg and mix again. The final touch: add oatmeal and chocolate chips, place on a baking sheet in a 2-2.5 cm layer and bake at 170 ° C for 20 minutes.
Fitness bars with banana
These bars are convenient to take with you to training. They will cope perfectly with hunger after intense physical activity.
Ingredients
- oat flakes – 150 g;
- honey – 50 ml;
- ripe banana – 1 pc.;
- coconut oil – 80 g;
- dark chocolate – 70 g.
Calorie content per 100 g: 180 kcal.
Step-by-step cooking process
- Honey should be melted in a water bath, then combined with crushed instant oatmeal.
- The mixture must be divided into 2 equal parts. One of the parts needs to be placed on the bottom of the mold and evenly distributed over its surface.
- Mash the banana with a fork and combine with chocolate melted in a water bath.
- The chocolate-banana filling should be distributed over the formed base and covered with the second part of the honey-oat mixture on top.
- The blank for the bars should be placed in the refrigerator for 2 hours, and then cut into squares or rectangles.
How to serve a dish
Oatmeal bars can be drizzled with melted chocolate and sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts.
How to make protein bars at home
So, to make such a product with your own hands, you will need fairly simple ingredients.
- 1 cup dates and dried apricots. Since we are using dried fruits, we will not need to add additional sweetener. Soak everything in 1 cup of warm water and let sit until the dried fruits soften. Then cut into pieces.
- 1.5 cups oatmeal. They will need to be ground in a coffee grinder. You can leave a few large particles.
- 1 cup whey protein.
- 4 spoons of milk. It is best to take milk with 1% fat content.
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend. Place the resulting mass on parchment or in a mold and place in the refrigerator. When the mass hardens, cut into pieces.
PP chocolate bars
Muesli bars are rich in carbohydrates, which are so necessary to replenish energy reserves.
Ingredients
- grain oats – 100 g;
- oat flakes – 60 g;
- dried apricots – 120 g;
- milk – 80 ml;
- honey – 60 g;
- hazelnuts – 50 g;
- dark chocolate – 100 g;
- cocoa powder – 20 g.
Calorie content per 100 g: 210 kcal.
Step-by-step cooking process
- Place oats, oat flakes, dried apricots, milk, honey and cocoa in a blender bowl, then beat the mixture until smooth.
- The hazelnuts should be finely chopped with a knife and added to the crushed mixture.
- Cover the bottom of a glass mold or deep baking sheet with cling film and lay out the resulting mass, carefully distributing it with a spatula.
- Melt a bar of dark chocolate in a water bath and pour in the compacted mixture.
- The form with the mixture must be placed in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
How to serve a dish
The cooled layer is cut into portioned pieces in the form of bars. Products can be decorated with almond petals, chopped nuts or coconut flakes.
Muesli bar for breakfast
Homemade PP bars are perfect for breakfast, as they consist of cereals, dried fruits and vegetable oils. The nutritional value of finished products meets the body's need for proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Ingredients
- oat flakes – 200 g;
- walnuts – 40 g;
- prunes – 30 g;
- dried apricots – 30 g;
- dates – 30 g;
- banana – 1 pc.;
- apple – 2 pcs.;
- honey – 60 ml;
- olive oil – 30 ml;
- sesame – 40 g.
Calorie content of 100 g of product: 230 kcal.
Step-by-step cooking process
- Oatmeal should be dried in the oven at 180C for 10-15 minutes.
- Prunes, dried apricots and dates should be covered with water and left for 15 minutes, then dried and finely chopped.
- Walnuts should be finely chopped with a knife.
- Peel the apples and place them with the banana in a blender bowl. Beat the fruits until smooth, then add dried fruits and nuts.
- To the resulting mass you need to add oatmeal, sesame seeds and honey, then mix thoroughly.
- The mixture of cereals and dried fruits must be evenly distributed over the surface of a baking sheet covered with baking paper and greased with olive oil.
- The baking sheet should be placed in an oven preheated to 180C for 20-25 minutes.
How to serve a dish
The prepared workpiece is cut into rectangles or squares. You can pour melted dark chocolate over the bars and garnish with dried cranberries.
Useful tips
Useful tips and tricks to help you prepare homemade PP bars:
- Dried fruits for bars must be pre-soaked in water. Many of them are soaked in a special syrup containing sugar.
- For bars, it is better to use instant oatmeal. Its flakes are more delicate and soft.
- In order for the nuts to have a more pronounced taste, it is recommended to fry them in a frying pan or in the oven before using them.
- The consistency of the bars depends on the cooking method. Products browned in the oven are more crumbly and crispy. Moist, juicy textures are characteristic of bars that were prepared without heat treatment.
- PP bars prepared at home using the oven are stored well in baking paper at room temperature in a dark, dry place.
What are the benefits and harms of protein bars?
While they are not inherently good or bad, how a person uses protein bars based on their eating habits can be beneficial or harmful.
When protein bars contain high-quality protein, such as from soy or animal sources, there are many benefits:
- they provide essential amino acids to the diet to help build and maintain muscle mass;
- synthesize red blood cells;
- restore wounds or damaged tissue;
- produce hormones and enzymes;
- capable of supplying energy in the form of carbohydrates or fats;
- are an alternative to chocolate bars;
- speed up metabolism.
And yet, even the highest quality product can cause harm to the body:
- Considering that the bar contains a lot of sweet components, they have a high calorie content, so you should control their consumption so as not to gain extra pounds;
- if you have kidney disease, you should limit your protein intake in general;
- Frequent use may lead to unwanted spikes in blood sugar.