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Soy Protein Bars

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Source:		Alton Brown, Good Eats
Yield:		24 Squares
Serving Size:		1 Bar
Servings:		24

Since I'm starting to work on building more muscle, I've decided that I need to have more protein, and even though I wouldn't mind eating more steaks, I probably shouldn't. That's when I saw a Good Eats episode on protein bars. So I decided to try it out. Here's the original recipe.

For the grain products, the easiest place to find it all is at Whole Foods where they ahve self-measure bulk bins so you can get just what you need. Some Whole Foods have soy protein powder in bulk bins as well but some will only have it in larger containers.

Most grocery stores will carry firm tofu which you can use. Make sure to get Japanese Silken or Nigari tofu as it is smoother and softer than Chinese. Firm tofu will be a tad more grainy and since it has less moisture will be a little stronger in flavor. You may need to go to an asian grocery to find soft tofu.

You can substitute 11 oz. (about 2 cups) of any dried fruit. In my first batch I used dried Omega 3 Cranberries and Mixed Berries (Strawberries, Blueberries, Cherries) from Trader Joe's. The strawberries were my favorite. The second time I used dried bing cherries, cranberries and raisins from Whole Foods.

In my second batch, I also decided to see if I could get creative so, I used chocolate flavored soy protein powder and added a little bit of cocoa. I also used crunchy peanut butter and regular sugar (I forgot to buy more brown).

While these are a bit sweet and contain fruit, remember that they are protein bars, not brownies or candy bars. Next time I may try replacing the dried fruit with chocolate chips and oats to make it a bit more granola bar-ish.

Ingredients

Proten Bars
Ingredient	Amount	Calories	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Prot (g)
Flour, Whole Wheat	2.75 Ounce	264	1.4	0	0
Sugar, granulated	4 Ounce	440	0	113.6	0
Soy Protein Powder, Whole Foods Chocolate	4 Ounce	385	3.1	46.2	43.1
Tofu, Soft (Japanese, Silken, Nigari)	12 Ounce	204	12.6	0	0
Raisins	4 Ounce	339	0.5	89.9	3.5
Cocoa Powder, Unsweetened	2 Tablespoon	65	3.9	0	0
Wheat Germ	0.75 Ounce	81	2.1	0	0
Egg, Whole, Raw	2 Large	148	10	0.8	12.6
Oat Bran	2.25 Ounce	158	4.5	0	0
Apple Juice, Unfiltered	0.5 Cup	60	0	0	0
Cherries, Dry	4 Ounce	352	0	0	0
Cranberries, Dry, Sweetened	4 Ounce	368	1.2	0	0
Salt	0.5 Teaspoon	0	0	0	0
Peanut Butter, Natural	0.667 Cup	1121	85.4	0	0
Total:		3985	124.7	250.5	59.2
Per Serving:		166	5.2	10.4	2.5

Instructions

		click for a larger image
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cake pan with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the protein powder, wheat germ, oat bran, whole wheat flour and salt. This is a where a kitchen scale comes in handy. You can just tare the scale after each ingredient so you can measure accurately.

Roughly chop the dried fruits. I only needed to chop the cherries since they were larger. Blueberries, raisins, cranberries, etc. should already be small enough, then set aside.

Whisk the tofu until smooth.

One at a time, add the sugar, apple juice, eggs and peanut butter. Whisk each one fully into the tofu before adding the next.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

Mix until thoroughly combined.

Mix in the dried fruit.

Spread out the batter in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until the internal temperature is 205.

Once cooked, remove and allow to cool thoroughly before cutting into 24 pieces.

The bars can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or frozen.