Homemade protein bars

[jiggahertz]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: jiggahertz

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Ok, I've gone through and read that entire thread, thanks Special K.

Here is what I am thinking of trying for a slightly lower calorie, lower fat version of the bar:

1 cup natural PB (1,680 calories, 128g fat, 64g protein)
2 cups oats (1,214 calories, 22g fat, 53g protein)
4 scoops whey (I have ON chocolate right now) (480 calories, 4g fat, 96g protein)
Stevia (this is in place of the honey, in case I need the sweetness upped a bit) (negligible)
Skim milk (to help bind it and keep it moist, though I may just use water instead). (negligible)

So in total that makes it:

3,374 calories, 154g of fat, 213g of protein

I'll probably give these a shot on Sunday and let you all know how it goes.

KT

My only issue with those bars is the disproportionate amount of fat they contain, due to the fact that you need to use so much peanut butter to really make them hold together. I dabbled with the proportions of the various ingredients, but you really can't get around the fact that you need a lot of sticky peanut butter to hold everything else together.

The end result is these bars end up being more like 'fat bars' rather than 'protein bars'. If the fat fits within your macro requirements then there isn't a problem, but I would rather have my fat intake spread out over a few meals, rather than being concentrated into 1 or 2 bars.

I'm not sure if it was that thread or one of the other at WBB recipes, but someone also mentioned cutting some of the PB and replacing it with mashed bananas.

That's a good idea, though it will up the sugar content quite a bit and I think bananas are still relatively fatty are they not?

KT

Bananas do not have any fat, and the only "sugar" they contain is fructose.

Yeah, I'm an idiot on the fat thing. They still contain quite a bit of sugar though, regardless of the type.

Anywho, I'll probably try the less peanut butter, bit of banana recipe and see how it goes.

KT

An equal volume of bananas contains less carbs than PB.

 

[Kaido]

Found a nice list here:

http://www.liftforlife.com/proteinbars.htm

 

[irishScott]

I just eat lots of beef jerky and other meat throughout the day.

1 small bag of beef jerky = 48 grams of protein. Add that to the sausage, sandwiches/hamburgers, and fish that I eat throughout the day, I'm set on the protein.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Found a nice list here:

http://www.liftforlife.com/proteinbars.htm

Not bad, thanks. There are a couple there that look interesting.

Originally posted by: irishScott
I just eat lots of beef jerky and other meat throughout the day.

1 small bag of beef jerky = 48 grams of protein. Add that to the sausage, sandwiches/hamburgers, and fish that I eat throughout the day, I'm set on the protein.

I did consider having jerky, but it is so high in sodium I didn't think it was a good idea to have it on a regular basis.

KT

 

[irishScott]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Kaido
Found a nice list here:

http://www.liftforlife.com/proteinbars.htm

Not bad, thanks. There are a couple there that look interesting.

Originally posted by: irishScott
I just eat lots of beef jerky and other meat throughout the day.

1 small bag of beef jerky = 48 grams of protein. Add that to the sausage, sandwiches/hamburgers, and fish that I eat throughout the day, I'm set on the protein.

I did consider having jerky, but it is so high in sodium I didn't think it was a good idea to have it on a regular basis.

KT

If you sweat/workout a lot, shouldn't be a problem. I row (as in actual rowing) every other day and do various forms of cardio on most the other days if I feel up to it, so it all evens out.

The amount of sodium also varies by brand. I just buy the Cheyenne stuff in the University food market (basically the food section of a drug store). 680 mg of sodium per serving, ~4 servings per bag. I eat half a bag right after a hard workout, so ~1360 mg of sodium after sweating my ass dry evens out. Even then it's well below the "safe upper limit" defined by the IOM/NAS.

Reference: Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) table for electrolytes:
http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/20/004/0.pdf

Sodium:
Adequate Intake: 1500 mg
Safe Upper Limit: 2300 mg

The AI is set based on being able to obtain a nutritionally adequate diet for other nutrients and to meet the needs for sweat losses for individuals engaged in recommended levels of physical activity. Individuals engaged in activity at higher levels or in humid climates resulting in excessive sweat may need more than the AI. The UL applies to apparently healthy individuals without hypertension; it thus may be too high for individuals who already have hypertension or who are under the care of a health care professional.

Related:
DRI is an updated, more accurate RDA (RDA is from the 40s, DRIs are from the late 90s/21st century). RDA was designed for statistically large populations. DRIs are designed for the average individual.

DRI Tables for everything else:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/health_i...Reference_Intakes.aspx (use the pdf links at the bottom)

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Ok, I've gone through and read that entire thread, thanks Special K.

Here is what I am thinking of trying for a slightly lower calorie, lower fat version of the bar:

1 cup natural PB (1,680 calories, 128g fat, 64g protein)
2 cups oats (1,214 calories, 22g fat, 53g protein)
4 scoops whey (I have ON chocolate right now) (480 calories, 4g fat, 96g protein)
Stevia (this is in place of the honey, in case I need the sweetness upped a bit) (negligible)
Skim milk (to help bind it and keep it moist, though I may just use water instead). (negligible)

So in total that makes it:

3,374 calories, 154g of fat, 213g of protein

I'll probably give these a shot on Sunday and let you all know how it goes.

KT

My only issue with those bars is the disproportionate amount of fat they contain, due to the fact that you need to use so much peanut butter to really make them hold together. I dabbled with the proportions of the various ingredients, but you really can't get around the fact that you need a lot of sticky peanut butter to hold everything else together.

The end result is these bars end up being more like 'fat bars' rather than 'protein bars'. If the fat fits within your macro requirements then there isn't a problem, but I would rather have my fat intake spread out over a few meals, rather than being concentrated into 1 or 2 bars.

Yeah, I'm kind of concerned about the fat myself. You are right though, I can't imagine an alternative to the peanut butter, unless I can find some sort of other binding agent. I was almost thinking of making a pseudo-caramel out of the stevia in an attempt to minimize the amount of peanut butter (and ergo fat) but I'm not sure how well that will work. If I did that I could probably halve the peanut butter, which would bring the fat for the entire batch under 100g, which is much more reasonable.

KT


Edit: just did some more reading and the caramel will not work, so back to the drawing board.

Why not use egg whites to bind it and bake the bars? What might work is to beat the eggs into a meringue, then fold in the other ingredients and bake.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: irishScott

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Kaido
Found a nice list here:

http://www.liftforlife.com/proteinbars.htm

Not bad, thanks. There are a couple there that look interesting.

Originally posted by: irishScott
I just eat lots of beef jerky and other meat throughout the day.

1 small bag of beef jerky = 48 grams of protein. Add that to the sausage, sandwiches/hamburgers, and fish that I eat throughout the day, I'm set on the protein.

I did consider having jerky, but it is so high in sodium I didn't think it was a good idea to have it on a regular basis.

KT

If you sweat/workout a lot, shouldn't be a problem. I row (as in actual rowing) every other day and do various forms of cardio on most the other days if I feel up to it, so it all evens out.

The amount of sodium also varies by brand. I just buy the Cheyenne stuff in the University food market (basically the food section of a drug store). 680 mg of sodium per serving, ~4 servings per bag. I eat half a bag right after a hard workout, so ~1360 mg of sodium after sweating my ass dry evens out. Even then it's well below the "safe upper limit" defined by the IOM/NAS.

Reference: Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) table for electrolytes:
http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/20/004/0.pdf

Sodium:
Adequate Intake: 1500 mg
Safe Upper Limit: 2300 mg

The AI is set based on being able to obtain a nutritionally adequate diet for other nutrients and to meet the needs for sweat losses for individuals engaged in recommended levels of physical activity. Individuals engaged in activity at higher levels or in humid climates resulting in excessive sweat may need more than the AI. The UL applies to apparently healthy individuals without hypertension; it thus may be too high for individuals who already have hypertension or who are under the care of a health care professional.

Related:
DRI is an updated, more accurate RDA (RDA is from the 40s, DRIs are from the late 90s/21st century). RDA was designed for statistically large populations. DRIs are designed for the average individual.

DRI Tables for everything else:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/health_i...Reference_Intakes.aspx (use the pdf links at the bottom)

Good info, thanks for very much for that. Looks like I can supplement with a little jerky and not throw myself too far out of whack.

KT

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: sjwaste

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Ok, I've gone through and read that entire thread, thanks Special K.

Here is what I am thinking of trying for a slightly lower calorie, lower fat version of the bar:

1 cup natural PB (1,680 calories, 128g fat, 64g protein)
2 cups oats (1,214 calories, 22g fat, 53g protein)
4 scoops whey (I have ON chocolate right now) (480 calories, 4g fat, 96g protein)
Stevia (this is in place of the honey, in case I need the sweetness upped a bit) (negligible)
Skim milk (to help bind it and keep it moist, though I may just use water instead). (negligible)

So in total that makes it:

3,374 calories, 154g of fat, 213g of protein

I'll probably give these a shot on Sunday and let you all know how it goes.

KT

My only issue with those bars is the disproportionate amount of fat they contain, due to the fact that you need to use so much peanut butter to really make them hold together. I dabbled with the proportions of the various ingredients, but you really can't get around the fact that you need a lot of sticky peanut butter to hold everything else together.

The end result is these bars end up being more like 'fat bars' rather than 'protein bars'. If the fat fits within your macro requirements then there isn't a problem, but I would rather have my fat intake spread out over a few meals, rather than being concentrated into 1 or 2 bars.

Yeah, I'm kind of concerned about the fat myself. You are right though, I can't imagine an alternative to the peanut butter, unless I can find some sort of other binding agent. I was almost thinking of making a pseudo-caramel out of the stevia in an attempt to minimize the amount of peanut butter (and ergo fat) but I'm not sure how well that will work. If I did that I could probably halve the peanut butter, which would bring the fat for the entire batch under 100g, which is much more reasonable.

KT


Edit: just did some more reading and the caramel will not work, so back to the drawing board.

Why not use egg whites to bind it and bake the bars? What might work is to beat the eggs into a meringue, then fold in the other ingredients and bake.

Interesting idea, my only concern is dryness, but I could probably offset that with a little more milk/water.

KT