Protein Bars #2

[Gaelen]

Index of Protein Bars #2:

Nut Protein Bars (from lowcarbgirl) -- counts vary depending on nuts used


Make sure to check out more protein bar recipes in Protein Bars #1 (http://www.proteinpower.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49), which contains recipes for these flavors:
Almond Joy, Apple Spice, Chocolate Caramel Nut, Chocolate-Coconut, Chocolate protein bar #1 & bar #2, Coffee, Fudge Caramel, Fudge Walnut, Fudge-y Nutty Bars, Fudge-y Caramel Bars, Lemon-Banana-Cranberry, Maple Vanilla, Nutty Fudge, Peanut Butter Balls, Peanut Butter Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter MaryJanes, Peanut Butter protein bars, Pineapple, Protein Bars Ver. 1 (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry variations), Protein Bars Ver. 2 (chocolate peanut), Protein Bars Ver. 3 (chocolate peanut butter), Sesame Almond, and shelf-stable Sesame protein bars.

[lowcarbgirl]

Here is a recipe for protein bars. All the ingredients I use are organic but you can use non-organic.

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
8 oz. peanut butter (if not using organic at least opt for natural without aded sugar and trans fats)
8 oz. nuts (your pick)
1 - 2 packet stevia (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together well. Spread into a baking pan and cut into individual servings. Cover pan and place into freezer. When solid seperate servings into plastic baggies and store in freezer.

I typically yield around 10 bars at about 2 ECC each.

Enjoy!!!
Willow

[LisaS]

how much protein are you getting per bar (as written)?

[Gaelen]

how much protein are you getting per bar (as written)?

Lisa, this is what I got from both MasterCook and Fitday using 8 oz. each of full fat cream cheese, no sugar added peanut butter, and:
Roasted almonds: 3.8g ECC and 13.7g protein per bar (1/10th the recipe)
Dry roasted unsalted peanuts: the protein numbers change to 14.9g per bar and the ECC is 4.9g.
Walnuts: the protein numbers change to 14.4g per bar; ECC again is around 3.8g.

Hope this helps. :)

[LisaS]

thanks!...............

[lowcarbgirl]

how much protein are you getting per bar (as written)?

I came up with 14.5 grams of protein per bar and 2 ECC.

The reason for my lower ECC is I use organic cream cheese and peanut butters (they contain no fillers, thickners, sugars etc...) and are usually have the carbs of the conventional stuff. Also I used organic walnuts and they are mostly fiber (often with organic along with higer nutrients you also get more fiber).

Hugs,
Willow

[Gaelen]

Lowcarbgirl, while I like organic ingredients, too, the variances between unprocessed organic ingredients and their conventionally grown counterparts is mainly in taste, NOT in macronutrient content...with the exception that some organically produced ingredients can contain more sugar, especially heirloom vegetable varieties. ;)

Walnuts, whether organic or conventionally produced, are not 'mostly fiber', they are usually about half fiber (per ounce, 4g carbs--2g of which is subtractable as fiber.) For eight ounces, they have 32g carbs, 16g of which is fiber and subtractable. Reference: www.nutritiondata.com English Walnuts (http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-B00001-01c20oc.html). These values for this most commonly available variety of walnut uses and agrees with the nutrient counts found in the USDA databases, upon which nutrient analysis programs like FitDay, DietPower, and MasterCook are based, and it applies whether the nuts are organic or produced from standard methods.

Dried Black Walnuts (http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-B00001-01c20ob.html) are 3g carbs, 2g of which are fiber and can be subtracted, but they are VERY hard to find from organic sources (at least in the northeast U.S.)

BTW, I have organic peanut butter in my house that has MORE carbs than low sodium, low sugar commercial peanut butter from Peter Pan. I prefer the fresh ground organic peanut butter...but organic ingredients do not, just by being organic, automatically have fewer carbs. When in doubt, and when asked to check a recipe, I will always compare the base nutrient info at several sources to confirm the labels on the products I'm using. And when listing nutrient counts for a recipe, if I'm using special ingredients that have nutrient counts that differ from the ones in standard references, I'll list that product by name, with its counts, so that people know they may need to adjust their counts if they're using something different. Hope that helps...

[lowcarbgirl]

Was there anything else in that organic peanut butter other than peanuts and possibly salt?

It's Arrowhead Mills Organic Creamy Valencia Peanut Butter (http://www.arrowheadmills.com/products/product.php?prod_id=1397&cat_id=85)...nothing in it except peanuts. It has 6g carbs, and 2g fiber (4g ECC for 2 tablespoons.) Peter Pan Low Sodium/No Sugar peanut butter comes in at 5g carbs and 3g fiber, or 2g ECC for two tablespoons...and it lists only peanuts and salt as its ingredients. Some of the difference could be rounding, but it could also be an honest analysis. Mileage varies.

[lowcarbgirl]

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: I'm confused. I didn't write the above post but it has my name on it. And the one I did write seems to have vanished :eek: :eek: :eek:

Hugs,
Willow

[lowcarbgirl]

The nutritional lable on the arrowhead peanut butter doesn't add up correctly and so I suspect that it has less carbs than listed. Here is the lable and calories involved with the listing:

fat 16.5 grams x 9 = 148.5 (calories from fat)
protein 8 grams x 4 = 32 (calories from protein)
carb 6 grams x 4 = 24 (calories from carb)

for a total of 204.5 not the 190 calories they have. That is a difference of 14.5 calories they are off by and that would come out to 3.6 grams of protein or carb or just over a gram and a half of fat.

Often what manufacturers do is establish the amount of calories, then the fat and protein and whatever they have left they give to carbs (not always acurate to begin with). If they make an error it throws everything off (like the above mathmatical example of the arrowhead peanut butter nutritional label) and the listing can't be completely trusted. I find this all so often when adding up the labels. Though I also find ones that add right up. This is just part of the reason I prefer whole foods over commercial and processed foods.

I'm even considering making my own peanut butter in my magic bullet. If only I could make my own cheeses, oh well. :p


Hugs,
Willow

[Gaelen]

I'm confused. I didn't write the above post but it has my name on it. And the one I did write seems to have vanished

That IS bizarre...it was definitelythere, because I used auto-quote to write my reply, but it doesn't show up in the archive. And the 'edit' is because I had to edit in the counts from another window after the original post (typo).

Hmmm...something to check out tomorrow.

[lowcarbgirl]

That IS bizarre...it was definitelythere, because I used auto-quote to write my reply, but it doesn't show up in the archive. And the 'edit' is because I had to edit in the counts from another window after the original post (typo).

Hmmm...something to check out tomorrow.

:lol: :lol: :lol: It's revenge of the computers!!!! :paranoid: :tongue:

Hugs,
Willow

[bigjhays]

Ok, I'm just wondering about protein bars. I've seen the other thread about making protein bars but I'm not really into the whole making my own bars and baking thing. I was just wondering what everyones thoughts on protein bars from the store are, bars like the south beach bars, marathon's Protein bar, and all the other protein bars. I know they're pretty high in fiber but they're also high in alcohol sugars. I've been told that alcohol sugars aren't counted as carbs but I'm not quite sure why.

[Gaelen]

bigjhays, you might want to check out this thread on commecial protein bars in the "Making it Work 24/7" forum:
http://www.proteinpower.com/forum/showthread.php?t=372&highlight=protein+bars

Hope this helps.

[jjohn1]

Is there a difference between DESIGNER Protein and WHEY Protein?

[Gaelen]

JJohn, "Designer Whey Protein" is a brand-name. Whey protein is a type of protein. Other brands are IsoPure, Supro, Protein95, etc. Other types of protein (besides whey, which is a milk-based protein), are soy, egg, rice and mixed source proteins. Hope that helps.