Recipe: Gluten Free Homemade Protein Bars Vanilla

Recipe: Gluten Free, Low Carb Vanilla Protein Bars

When I arrived home from my awesome vacation to New Zealand, I was greeted by a yummy box of gluten free goodies from Low Carb Foods. They specialize in gluten free, low carb, and diabetic friendly foods. I had heard some wonderful things about them from my pal Sarah at Low Carb Kitty and hadn’t tried their products out for myself yet so I was super excited. One of the items I received in my goody bag was Vanilla Protein Bar Mix. This immediately intrigued me because I’ve never made my own homemade protein bars. I’ve heard about people making homemade Larabars before, but it’s something I’ve never tried for myself. I decided to make them. The recipe for these gluten free homemade protein bars is super easy. Here’s what you will need:

• One Bag of Vanilla Protein Bar Mix. You can get it in chocolate or vanilla flavor. I used vanilla.
• 1 and 3/4 tsp of Vanilla Extract
• 2/3 Cup Almond Butter

Now, the third ingredient is interchangeable. You could use coconut oil instead or you could use peanut butter. The recipe didn’t mention almond butter, but I decided to try it out for myself anyway. Besides..I have to add my own personal touch to it, right? You could even add nuts to it if you really want to get crazy. Do what you’d like!

And now for the instructions:

• Grease a baking pan with coconut oil (they say to use 8 x 11 but I used 8 x 8).
• Empty the protein bar mix into a medium sized bowl. Add the vanilla extract and your third ingredient. If you use coconut oil, remember to work fast so it doesn’t harden up on you. The mixture will begin to take on a dough like form. If you need to, add some more water to help it mix together (that’s what I did).
•  Once the dough is mixed together, pat it into the baking pan. Oh, did I mention you don’t actually have to BAKE these? Because you don’t.
• Use saran wrap or wax paper to help you form the dough into the baking pan.
• Once complete, let the dough sit for 10 minutes. Cut into protein bars and wa-la.

I gave these gluten free homemade protein bars from LC Foods to my husband for a taste test and he really liked them! He asked if he could take some to work for breakfast. He said it tastes like a PowerBar, but probably one of the best PowerBar’s he’s tried. Hooray!

Next I tasted them. I liked them a lot too! So much that I ate more than one. And these gluten free homemade protein bars have a whopping 16g of dietary fiber per serving. So take it from my experience and even though they are yummy, CONTROL YOUR PORTIONS!

Overall these were pretty easy to make. I will warn you that you are working with a gluten free food that’s low carb, so it’s not light and fluffy and easy to stir. It takes some elbow grease. So be prepared. But if you’ve eaten this type of food before you are probably already aware what I’m talking about. These have .5 net carbs per serving, which is pretty unbelievable. I am excited about these protein bars and plan to make the chocolate ones next with some sliced almonds on top. Yum yum!

What about you? Have you ever made homemade protein bars? What kind? Post in the comments and let me know!

Disclosure: I received a box of complimentary goodies from Low Carb Foods in the mail. I made the vanilla protein bar mix and decided to post about my awesome homemade protein bar experience.