Food Blog:
Cook In.
Eat Out.
Miss Tenacity.
New Mexico.
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Saturday, June 18
Tenabar: Almond Cocoa
(a protein bar)
First of all, what is the difference between a protein bar and an energy bar (and why the hell should I care)?
The first question I can answer quite easily.... if you don't already know the answer to the second, go ahead and skip this whole post. It won't do much for ya.
1) In my mind, the protein bar must contain a protein to carb ratio of no lower than 3:4. If there are 15 grams of protein, there can be no more than 20 grams of carbs. A protein bar is eaten with a specific purpose - to make up for a deficit in protein consumption in a moderately convenient form. A common brand name in protein bars is Balance Bar. Uber protein or bodybuilding bars usually contain the word "protein" or "ultra" or "mega" in their name, and they can taste like chocolately cement mix when done badly, as they can contain more than 50% protein by calorie count (**see note in next paragraph).
2) An energy bar is all of the other bars out there. Powerbars fit into the energy bar category, Clif, Luna, et cetera. They are primarily carbs (50-60% or more), with some protein and usually not much fat. The ratio for the classic Powerbar is 75/14/11% carb/protein/fat. **Strangely enough its the protein bars that tend to break the 20% fat level with some regularity. If its healthy fat, this is a good thing and fat can also make the bar more palatable.
One of the best tasting energy bars I have found is Larabar. I have even waxed poetic about them before, and recently Wild Oats lowered their price from $1.79 to $1.49. Yay, Sow Yer Oats!
[Second of all, why the "Tenabar" nonsense? Well, I am Miss Tenacity, and there are already Lara and Luna bars out there, so this is just a quasi-creative spin on those brands...]
Inspired by some demented reading on a weightlifting website, I was convinced I should have another go at making my own tasty refuel treats. After all, how else will I break my addiction to Balance Bar Cookie Dough flavor? Its shameful the amount of those things that I eat....
I found a recipe that looked like it had good ratio of c/p/f calories, and then tweaked it to lighten the carb count.
Here's the formula (makes 8 small or 4 large bars):
Almond Cocoa Tenabar
1/2c skim or soy milk
1/4c almond butter: (reduced fat slightly by pouring off oil from top of jar)
1/2t vanilla extract
1t molasses
2T cocoa powder
66g "worth" of unflavored protein powder (3 scoops of most brands)
1/2c rolled oats
few teaspoons of splenda (to taste)
Combine first four ingredients in microwaveable bowl and heat slightly to soften the nut butter. Mix well, then start adding the dry ingredients, combining thoroughly between each addition. Finally, add the oatmeal and get in there with your hands - your spatula will whimper at this task! Combine, shape into forms on/with saran wrap. Chill overnight, or at least for a few hours.
Per 1/8 recipe:
136 cal
11g carb (2g fiber)
12g pro
5g fat
32/35/33% ratio carb/pro/fat
What do they look like? Not to be to timid about it, they look like either like oatmeal-studded dark fudge, or something else that is dark brown and log-shaped. Your choice. For those of us who are fitness/health freaks, this wouldn't even cause us to hesitate on the way to the kitchen. We truly are demented that way. Note that they do SMELL really nice, like nutty chocolate, which in a way is what they are.
Ate one today (day after making them) and it was pretty tasty, for a protein bar. Meaning, its barely edible by normal food standards. I need to use better quality protein powder to cut down on the cement mix effect. I was trying to emulate the Balance Bar "Almond Brownie" flavor and I'm definitely on the right track, but have a ways to go. The texture at room temperature is like fudge - very soft but still holding together, and pieces break off cleanly with no stretch factor. It is not sticky at all due to the high fat content, but due to the same it is a bit greasy.
Next tweaks: figure out a way to eliminate splenda altogether, use chunky nut butter to have better texture in bar, grind up some of the oats to allow them to incorporate better.
Time posted: 17:16 [permalink]
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CONTACT ME: tenacity -at- gmail.com
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