Blaine and I will be kicking off 2008 with a series on Fitness and Food - taking a look at the many ways in which diet can support your training. First up, How to make your own protein bars.
Straight after a workout I find myself eating anything which is put in front of me; and I suspect I'm not alone in this. To make sure it's something reasonably nutritious, I decided to knock up my own protein bars.
As you'll see below, there are a number of ways in which you can adjust this to suit your own tastes. This is simply a basic recipe which I noticed over on Stumptuous, and which works well.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unflavoured or vanilla protein powder
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 cup peanut butter
Now, this isn't an exact science. As long as you have about the same amount of each ingredient, you'll be fine.
The quantities above will make around a 6" x 8" tray.
Substitutions and Additions
This recipe can take quite a few changes. Feel free to experiment with different protein powders, types of flour (ground oats work really well) and the many varieties of nut butter available.
Also worth experimentation is the addition of spices to the flour (personal favourites : cinnamon and nutmeg). When you come up with a winning combination, be sure to leave a comment below.
Other additions (and there are bonus points for trying any of these, they're fantastic) include pieces of fruit (mmm...bananas), nuts and seeds. Experiment.