No-Bake Chunky Monkey Raspberry Protein Bars!

You might've caught on by now that cooking is one of my passions. But another thing that I absolutely adore is fitness. I work out five to six times a week, not because I need to look "shredded" but because I just love the feeling of getting my heart rate up and find that exercising clears my head like nothing else. As I've gotten more and more into fitness I've also gotten increasingly into clean eating and upping my protein intake. This is where my homemade protein bars come in...

I've spent years trying to find the perfect bar. From Quest Bars to Built Bars to Think Thin Bars, but nothing has ever amazed me enough that I would repurchase over and over again. Not to mention that protein bars can cost up to four dollars a piece, which is a little ridiculous if you ask me. So then I thought to myself: surely somebody has a great recipe for homemade protein bars online. I went down a google rabbit-hole and still could not find a single recipe that I liked. They either had so much peanut butter in them that I just knew that they would have the fat content of a McDonald's meal or they were just plain boring. 

From that day forward, I set out on a mission to craft the best protein bar recipe that I could and this is what I came up with: No-Bake Chunky Monkey Raspberry Protein Bars. These things are not only good for you but they taste like a literal dessert. Here's what you'll need to make them yourself: 

Oat Layer

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup almond flour (you can also use coconut flour)

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp flax seed meal 

2 tbsp powdered peanut butter

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder 

3/4 cup water

1 tbsp maple syrup 

"Frosting" Layer

1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt (you can also use non-fat or full-fat) 

2 tbsp chocolate powdered peanut butter 

1 tbsp water

Fruit Layers

1 mashed banana

1/4 frozen raspberries (or any frozen/fresh berry of your choice)

To decorate- A few semi-sweet chocolate chips 

So I know that it looks like a lot of ingredients but its actually a super customizable recipe is super easy to whip up in a bind, trust me. 

1. To start you'll need to combine your "dry ingredients" in a bowl, so everything except for the water and maple syrup.

2. Then, add your maple syrup and water. When this is added, your mixture will resemble the texture of a cookie dough, don't try and thin it out! If it's too dry, then just add a bit more water. 

3.  Once you have mixed everything together and your mixture feels and looks like a cookie dough of sorts, you'll need to press the mixture into a 9"x5" loaf pan (the kind you use to make banana bread in), lined with wax or parchment paper. Make sure to push the dough out into the corners of the pan or you'll end up with odd-looking bars.

4.  Just let the oat mixture sit on the counter while you work on the other elements of the bars. Mash up a ripe banana into a nice puree with a fork and add it on the top of the oat layer, making sure not to mix up the layers.                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                     

     5.  Add the frozen raspberries on top of the banana and start making your frosting by adding the Greek yogurt, chocolate powdered peanut butter, and water to a bowl (you can just use the same one that you made the oat mixture in to save on dishes). When everything is mixed together, your "frosting" should resemble a thick, conventional frosting but will be lighter in color than your average chocolate buttercream because it does not have any cocoa powder in it other than the powdered peanut butter. You could add some for a darker, richer-looking color, but there is no need. 

6.      Spread the "frosting" on top of the frozen raspberries, add chocolate chips, and place in the freezer for one to four hours depending on how hard you want them to be, I typically leave mine in for only about an hour because I like them to be on the softer side! 

7.       After some time in the freezer, take them out, cut them into bars and ENJOY! These really are to die for, definitely give them a try if you're looking for a yummy snack or dessert with some protein. They are perfectly sweet and so much better than anything you could buy at a grocery store!