We all have our weird issues when it comes to food, right? I once saw a girl at Fazoli's absolutely lose her mind because her breadstick was touching the rest of her food. I've also seen grown adults brought to tears and/or dry heaving because somebody used the word "moist" to describe a food. While I may not understand these reactions, I am entitled to my own food "pet peeves". I have two that I'm aware of:
- Armpit soup (Sometimes referred to as "chili")
- Food floss
Since I've already expressed how I feel about cumin and how it does not belong in chili (and most other foods), I need to explain the "food floss" and why I let it into my blog.
Food floss (official definition that I just made up) is the vertical lines left in a food indicating the area between the consumer's teeth where the food has just been dragged through. Just like floss. Don't get me wrong, I can share a drink with somebody no problem but once they leave teeth marks in my brownie, I'm pretty much done. Hence, why brownies were not created to be shared. I think gum is the worst. If you ever see me chewing gum, know to take a few steps back because I really need a toothbrush when I get to that point.
Why did I include it in my photo of these delicious protein bars? Because I'm assuming I'm the only person that it bothers... and one of the bars broke when I was cutting them so I had to make it look like I intentionally bit into it. At least that missing piece held me over until I could eat these after taking photos!
I'm seriously wonder how many people are still reading right now. Thanks for sticking around - you're my fave.
I used to make protein bars like this all the time using various flavors of protein. PureWOD just released BUILD in vanilla flavor and it made me want to try a vanilla chai spice flavor of my bars. I used their chocolate flavor back in January to make "Peanut" Butter Cup Protein Chia Pudding and I had also used it to try these Fudgy Protein Mug Cakes. I love that even though it's not whey, it's still very versatile and can be used in a lot of recipes.
I've been noticing a lot of people on my site looking for vegan recipes, probably because most everything here is dairy free. Although the protein I used is dairy free, it is made with beef so I asked my friend Edith if she had a good vegan protein she could recommend for my vegan readers and she recommended vanilla PlantFusion. Note that the recipe has not been tested with any other protein but I see no reason why it wouldn't work with that or even vanilla whey if that's what you use.
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Protein bars
- 12 dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- 1 Tbsp nut butter (use cashew butter for best flavor)
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 60g vanilla protein powder (I used pureWOD BUILD) *see notes*
Chai spice blend
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ⅛ tsp cardamom
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ⅛ tsp cloves
Instructions
- In a food processor, blend together the dates, nut butter, and coconut oil until you get a paste. Transfer this to a medium mixing bowl.
- Mix the spices together for the chai spice blend and set aside.
- Add vanilla protein to the mixing bowl with just a little bit of the spice blend and knead by hand. Continue adding the spice blend as you knead, tasting as you go until it reaches your spice preference. I like mine pretty spicy and ended up using all of it.
- Once everything is fully mixed, you'll need to pack it into a 4x8 rectangle. The easiest way to do this is to transfer it to an 8x8 baking dish and pack the mixture into half of it. It takes a little bit of muscle but keep packing it in there until it's solid and not crumbly.
- Refrigerate until chilled. It might take about 4 hours or you can leave it overnight. Once chilled, cut into 4 2x4 inch bars.
Notes
*I have a friend who recommends PlantFusion vanilla protein as a good vegan option. It does contain gluten-free, sprouted grains but may be a good option for you depending on your needs and preferences. Note that this recipe has only been tested with PureWOD BUILD.
If you have leftover chai spice blend, add a little to some black tea to make your own chai.
Each bar contains approximately 12g protein.
Wow! These sound delicious. <3
★★★★★
Thanks Rachel! I loved your mug cakes :)