For almost a year and a half I have either been pregnant or nursing. My body, which used to be solely mine, is now shared with one of my two favorite people on this earth and unlike I expected, I love it. I find deep joy in the powers of my body that created, birthed, and nourished another human being. I am awed watching Eden, who yesterday at her 6 month check in weighed almost 17 pounds, grow.
By supplying food and nourishment for my fetus and now baby I must constantly be aware of how I eat. Iron, Calcium, and Protein are more important than ever in this time. Since this all began protein has been challenging for me. This is in no way because I’m vegan; I eat an average amount of protein, but a pregnant or nursing mom needs about 70 grams a day!
Therefore I am always trying to figure out ways to sneak a little extra protein into my diet and in that process I created these: The German Chocolate Protein Bar.
German Chocolate Protein Bar – makes 12
1 cup oats or oat flour
1/2 cup soy protein powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup dates, pitted
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp pecans
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
6 tbsp brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 salt
In a food processor grind up the oats until they are s fine flour. Add protein and cocoa powders, 1/3 cup of pecans, 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, and salt and combine well. Add dates, brown rice syrup, and vanilla. Mix until the dry ingredients are fully hydrated, scraping down the sides as needed. Dough should be tacky, but not too sticky. If the dough is too dry and won’t come together add a little bit of water.
Once well combined, scrape dough onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper or a silicone mat. Place another piece of wax paper on top and roll out to 1/2 inch thick, shaping into a square as you roll.
Place bars in the refrigerator and allow to harden before cutting into 12 equal pieces. Store in refrigerator for 5 days or up to a month in the freezer.
Enjoy as a snack for a good, healthy boost of protein.
Thanks for stopping by! The Sweet Life is a vegan food blog combining my love for good food, beautiful pictures, and compassionate eating. I am a long time vegan, trained in both photography and French Patisserie, excited to share my passions. Take a look around and enjoy The Sweet Life
I make a bar very similar to this but I don’t use oats, soy or the rice syrup. My kids have dubbed them Marmie’s good shit bars, lol. My last batch consisted of dates, cocoa powder, walnuts, almonds, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, chia seed, poppy seed and lots of coconut, both fine & big shredded. When I need a bit of a binder I throw in some coconut oil. Keep in the fridge or freezer. I always start out with a 1kg of dates (no point in making a small batch) and often end up with more than I anticipated. The original recipe I had started with was just chia, cocoa and dates. I just started tossing in what ever else I had in my cupboards at the time. I used to buy the little protein bars or balls that are often sold at our local health food stores (we have 2 in Penticton) but wondered why they always add some kind of sweetener (agave/rice syrup) as the dates are more than enuff sweet naturally. And of course I thought I could improve upon what they were making, and selling for a terribly expensive price. Anyways, for a fraction of the cost, we are quite happy with the results.
I’d like to say, I rather enjoy your little site. Not sure, but I think that I found you by following links by HOMESTEAD SURVIVAL on facebook for new recipes. I’ve recently started my own *back to good health* journey as I have fibromyalgia & chronic depression and I’m just sick and tired of always being sick and tired. My newest recent food discovery/issue came from reading WHEAT BELLY. I have long since suspected wheat/gluten as being a major source in my health woes, and now have eliminated all wheat from my diet. It’s been an interesting road with my body detoxing and craving wheat all the same time. These good *hit bars have helped enormously
Have a great day!
ciao ~ loraine
I’m glad you found my site. I am sorry to hear about your health, but it sounds like you are on a great road to recovery. Thanks for sharing your story!
These remind me of Larabars but with more goodies in them! These look super good and best of all chocolately!
Oh my:) YUM! These look so great:) I can’t wait to make them. And the best part, I think these makes chocolate for breakfast acceptable!
Totally! Whenever I can fit chocolate into breakfast, I do!
These are amazing! I added a bit of cinnamon to bring out the chocolate flavor, but it seems like your recipe will be a template for further protein bars! I love that I can bring these anywhere, and that they are insanely good! Thanks so much!
Cinnamon is a great idea. I will have to try that.
Hi,
I’m from Australia, and I can’t buy oats here that do not contain gluten due to the manufacturing process. What would you recommend as a replacement? I’d love to try making these for my boyfriend but he is very sensitive to gluten. Also, could you replace soy protein with pea protein?
Hey, I don’t really think you could replace the oats without totally altering the recipe. I can’t think of anything GF that would work like oats.
In terms of pea protein, I’ve never had it, but it looks like it would be fine as long as it doesn’t have a strong flavor. You could also leave the protein powder out. it wouldn’t affect the texture much, it’s just for the extra protein.
Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. Good Luck!
I tried using quinoa flakes instead of oats and it worked really well. They were delicious.
That’s a great idea! And that way you get extra protein. I’ve never seen quinoa flakes here, but I’m going to look and try that! Thanks for the suggestion.