Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I tried making Candice’s Low Carb Chocolate & Peanut Butter Protein Bars with a few changes for my diet (since I can’t eat half & half and I prefer almonds to peanut butter. Those few changes, however, really screwed things up. When I followed the directions for the bar, instead of being sticky, it was nearly as dry as before I added the wet ingredients, so I had to double the wet ingredients.

Here is what my bars look like:

So, are they as delicious as they look? To me, they tasted FAR better than they should be for only 7 carbs. I think they are heavenly, but I haven’t eaten anything sweet for weeks. When Mike tasted them, he told our dog, “No, Nina, you can’t have this, but I’m not eating it either.” When I asked him why he didn’t like it, he said that it didn’t taste sweet to him. Of course, he had just eaten a Mrs. Field’s cookie a half hour earlier. In comparison, many things don’t taste sweet. All I know is I like them and they are perfect for a treat every once and a while.

Here are the altered ingredients, directions and nutrition facts.

Bar Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cup chocolate protein powder: I used Warrior Blend Raw Protein Chocolate Flavor because it had the least amount of carbs than the other brands I looked at.
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter
• 1/2 cup natural almond butter (no sugar, no salt)
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3/4 cup water

Topping Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (no sugar, no salt)
• 1 Tablespoon (0.5oz) salted butter
• 2 Tablespoons cream
• 1 packet of stevia (or sweetener of your choice)

Bar Instructions

• Line bottom of an 9×13 baking pan with parchment. Set aside.
• In medium sized bowl add protein powder, almond flour, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
• In small bowl add butter and almond butter. Heat in microwave until melted, about 45 seconds.
• Stir until combined.
• Stir in half & half and water with the butter and almond butter mixture.
• Mix wet mixture into your dry ingredients. Stir until smooth. Batter will be sticky.
• Pour into your prepared pan. Smooth evenly in pan with a spatula.
• Set aside.

Topping Instructions

• In small bowl heat almond butter and butter in microwave until melted.
• Stir in cream and sweetener into your almond butter/butter mixture. Mix until smooth.
• Pour on top of protein bars and smooth evenly.

Finishing

• Place pan in freezer for at least 30 minutes to set.
• Take out cut into 12 equal pieces.
• Store in air tight container or baggie in freezer until needed.

Nutritional information for 1 bar (12 servings):

• Energy: 285.3 cal
• Total Carbohydrates: 7.3 g
• Total Sugars: 1.0 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Protein: 12.8 g
• Total Fat: 24.5 g
• Net carbs: 5.3 g

My bars were so big and thick that I cut them into 12 servings instead of 8. My bars are very close in calories and carbs as the original supposedly were, although I have my doubts whether the simple replacement of almonds and cream could have affected the consistency of those bars as much as it did for me. Had I added more water to the mixture instead of cream and butter, I doubt they would have set up properly in the freezer. Additionally, I have NO idea how the topping was so thick on those bars when it was such a thin layer on mine.

In the end, I have my doubts whether the bars pictured on Candice’s website were ever made with the ingredients that were listed in that recipe. The consistency and texture are so different than mine. That doesn’t make either recipe bad, but the photo on Candice’s recipe doesn’t quite match up to reality.