No Bake Coconut Protein Bars

If you have ever wandered down the aisles of health food stores, you have probably seen people picking protein bar after protein bar, scanning the ingredient list and macronutrient breakdown; trying to find one that doesn’t contain a scary amount of sugar or nasty ingredients and that doesn’t cost an arm and leg.
Truth is, picking out the right protein bar is no easy task. I know it all too well.
And notwithstanding the downsides of packaged protein bars, we continue to buy them because they’re convenient, easy to carry, and supposedly healthy. When in reality most of them are just glorified candy bars - as someone brilliantly pointed out not too long ago on reddit.

The solution? Making your own.
It’s easy, convenient and you’ll end up with bars that are far tastier, healthier, and so much cheaper than store-bought.
Plus, you’ll feel so proud that you made ‘em yourself.

This is like the basic recipe for protein bars: coconut flour + protein powder + nut butter + milk.
Easy, peasy.
One word of caution before we move onto the recipe: if you don’t like coconut then these protein bars are not for you.
They taste a lot of coconut. So if that's not what you're into, fuggedaboutit.
But if you do like coconut, then these are a total no-brainer.
One last thing: remember to use a good-tasting protein powder it’s non-negotiable for these bars to taste awesome!

No Bake Coconut Protein Bars                                                                                                           Print this recipe!
Adapted from BodyBuilding.com

Ingredients
Makes 12 bars

1 cup coconut flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
4 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used Sunwarrior)
¼ cup almond butter (make your own almond butter with this recipe)
½ cup to 1 cup milk of your choice (I used almond)
A handful of dark chocolate chips

Directions

Line a small baking dish with parchment paper and grease it. Set aside.
In a large bowl sift coconut flour. Add protein powder and mix well. Add almond butter and mix until combined.
Start adding milk ¼ cup at a time until a very thick dough is formed. The amount of milk needed depends on the quality of coconut flour and protein powder used. Use your own judgment and stop adding liquid as soon as the dough holds together and you can knead it.
Transfer dough to the lined baking dish and press it firmly into the dish in an even layer (I used the bottom of a measuring cup to help press the mixture down into the pan.)
Dot with chocolate chips and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Slice into bars, transfer to an airtight container, and keep refrigerated.

Nutrition facts

One bar yields 223 calories, 17 grams of fat, 7 grams of carbs, and 11 grams of protein.