Protein breakfast bars

These are super quick and easy to make, packed full of seeds and goodness with a little honey or agave (if you’re vegan) to sweeten. Using some protein powder makes these a great homemade post-gym bar.

Credit: Juliet Sear

• makes

  10

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

They keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight container or in a food bag.

Ingredients

• 175 g oats
• 50 g protein powder of your choice
• 15 g ground flax
• 15 g chia seeds
• 1½ tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 75 g almond butter (you can use any nut butter you like e.g. cashew, multi or peanut)
• 100 g honey or agave syrup (if vegan use agave)
• 125 ml unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk 
• 50 g raisins
• 70 g plain chocolate chips or chocolate broken into small pieces (I used a vegan chocolate)
• mixed seeds, to sprinkle

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan forced and grease and line a 20 cm (8 inch) square cake tin with baking parchment. If you want to go dairy free, grease with coconut or vegetable oil.

2. In a bowl, mix the oats, protein powder, flax, chia, cinnamon and salt together thoroughly with a spoon.

3. Place the almond butter, honey or agave and milk in a stand mixer bowl and mix on medium speed until fully blended and amalgamated (or do by hand with a wooden spoon). Add the oat and protein powder dry mix and beat on slow until completely mixed and a sticky dough is formed.

4. Lift the beater and sprinkle the raisins and chocolate chips over the bowl. Lower the paddle and mix on slow for 10 seconds or so until they are distributed through the mix.

5. Remove all the mix from the bowl with a spatula, tipping it out into the tin. With the back of a spoon or damp fingers, press the mix down until you have a nice even layer lining the bottom of the tin. Sprinkle liberally with your chosen mix of seedy topping.

6. Bake for approximately 15-20 mins until the edges are starting to turn golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin, then remove by lifting out the paper, and cut into bars with a sharp knife.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

They keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight container or in a food bag.