…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Protein Pumpkin Bars…

Tis the season to bring out the pumpkin, apple cider, hot coco, and hot tea.

Today was meal prep day in my house and i made meals that will last me until next weekend.  This next week is going to be a BUSY week so i wanted to get a jump start on my meals so i would have NO excuse to not make the right food choices.

This week i tried a new recipe.  I tired to make Protein pumpkin Bars.

For those of you who LOVE pumpkin and other spices that correspond with this upcoming cold weather you will LOVE these bars.

Here is what you will need:

• ONE 4 oz of unsweetened applesauce 
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground clove
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites
• ONE 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin
• 2 C oat flour
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein
• ½ cup almond milk
• 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup splenda (or another sweetener)

Here is how you cook it:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray ( I used olive oil)
3. Combine  ingredients and mix them in a mixing bowl
4. Spread the batter into your dish
5. Bake for approximately 30 min (some ovens will take a shorter OR longer period of time. You will have to monitor them and do the “toothpick test”.)

The “toothpick test” is when you place a toothpick in the middle of the pan of your baked goods.  You stick the toothpick straight down and pull it back up (mimic the motion of dipping a tea bag into a hot cup of water).  Once you take the toothpick out if you see wet batter on the toothpick the baked good needs more time in the over.  If the toothpick is dry and relatively clean when you take it out (you may get small morsels of the baked good on the toothpick) the dish is ready!

You can add other things to these bars such as nuts, fruit, or anything else! BUT that will ADD calories, fats, carbs, and protein to the nutritional value of the bars.  You will want to be careful and not try to add too much because the more you add, the more you risk making these bars not as healthy as they should be.

Here is the nutrient breakdown of these bars:

• 57 Calories
• 6 grams of Fat
• 10 grams of Carbs
• 4 grams of protein 

Each pan can make about 24 squares and the above nutrients are for ONE piece of the protein bars.  I cut mine up, placed them in zip lock bags, and placed them in the fridge.  I would recommend storing them in the fridge.  This will allow for them to stay fresh longer.  If you want a more solid protein bar (not soft and moist like a piece of cake) you can put them in the freezer.  This will make them a little harder and they will actually last LONGER if you keep them in the freezer.  I will keep 1/2 of my batch in the fridge and the other 1/2 in the freezer.  This will help to ensure that none of my delicious pumpkin bars go to waste!

Try then out and let me know what ya think!