Home made Protein Bars Berryliscious. Nut Free, Low Carb

I like to make my own protein bars and really enjoy experimenting to find new recipes and these are may favourite yet! They are suitable for Vegans as well as Vegetarians, Nut free, raw and very low carb! Most natural bars have nut butters in and I have a hubby with a nut allergy so these are great for anyone wanting to avoid nuts. This is the basic recipe with macro breakdown, but you can easily adapt them to include your favourite ingredients.

 

Ingredients   

 

Bars

75 g unflavoured Soya Protein (could use any type of protein (unflavoured/ vanilla))

70 g, Desiccated Coconut

10 g, Chia Seed Powder
60ml, Soya Unsweetened Milk (could use any non dairy milk)
1 tsp (5 ml), Natural Vanilla Essence
100 g, Blackcurrants (Raw) (or any berry)Coating

80g, Dark Chocolate With Stevia  (dairy free for Vegan)

 

I used GoNutrition, click here to get a free bag of protein when you order yours (discount code GNAS3R90 for 10% of first order

Preparation

 

Blend the berries, coconut & vanilla essence together and mix in the protein and chia seeds 

Add the milk little by little to make a thick mixture. If its too runny it wont set. If its too wet, add extra protein until the right texture.

Line a tin with baking paper and press the mixture into the tin. Or divide and form into bars on a tray.

Place in fridge until sets. You could freeze to speed this up.

Cut into bars

Melt the chocolate (in a glass bowl over a pan or in a microwave)

Coat the bars in the chocolate and return to the fridge to set. (I coated one side, let them set then coated other side.)

Its best to keep them chilled.

You could use dried fruit for bars that will keep longer, you will need more liquid if use dry fruit.

 

Serves 8        150 calories per bar

 

Macro Breakdown

 

 

Total Fat	10g
Total Carbohydrate	3g
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Sugars 1g
Protein	10g

These bars are tasty & sweet enough to satisfy my sweet tooth! I have kept the recipe as clean as possible, but ingredients could be substituted, but it will affect macros. I prefer Stevia chocolate and unflavoured / unsweetened milk and protein to avoid any artificial sweeteners. The chocolate I went for was an 85% bar, dairy free but you could use any chocolate. I love these as its so hard to find recipes for nut free bars with low carbs!  And even store bought natural bars usually have nuts in. As these are so low carb, they are ideal for any phase of your diet. If you try them, please post a comment - really hope you like them too!

 

 

Comp Prep diet Vegetarian style: where do i get my protein?

The biggest question I get asked is how do you get enough protein as a vegetarian athlete? Well its not that difficult but it does take a bit of planning, As not all veggie protein is complete, you have to make sure you get lots of veggie protein to ensure you consume the full spectrum of amino acids, however it does mean a veggie diet can be a lot more varied than a meaty one!

So at the moment I'm in my final phase of diet, I'm still eating a lot, around 1750-1800 calories and carbs are fluctuating on a carb cycle so my macros change but I aim to get at least 145-200g protein per day (1-1.36g per pound of bodyweight)
So what does my day look like?

Breakfast: egg frittata (mix of eggs and egg whites, spinach and any other veggies I fancy!) sometimes with baked beans. Sometimes protein pancakes (home made with soya protein, oats, chia seeds) with almond butter and honey or agave syrup. (both cooked in coconut oil)
Post Training: Natural Recovery shake including Hemp Protein, greens, berries, kale, spinach etc.
Lunch: Tofu / Quorn & mixed salad sometimes with Spanish tortilla (potato and egg). (Salad dressing olive oil and balsamic) Home made high protein soups (split pea / lentil)
Mid afternoon: Protein shake click here to find out more about my comp prep protein  recommendation. Home made protein bars, or natural protein bars / flapjack. Latest sweet treat protein recipe is protein cake its nut free and also suitable for Vegans!
Tea: Evening meal with either Quorn, Soya, Tofu, or chickpeas / lentils with veg and Quinoa / Buckwheat
Evening snack: home made protein cake / bar, protein mousse, or a tofu frappe / shake or protein hot chocolate (I use silken tofu to make the shake and non dairy milk so i'm not relying on protein powders too much) For recipes for home made protein snacks click here

Like I said before, my macros change every day so this is just some meal examples not an actual day and I include as much variety as I can but if I aim for 20-30g protein per meal I can easily hit my target.

For help on how to plan your protein intake and food list with protein per portion, please click here

I really love my veggie comp diet, its very different from a typical bodybuilding diet which can be repetitive and fairly restricted. A Veggie bodybuilding diet is so varied and healthy- None-veggie athletes could benefit from including some veggie meals into their prep to have a break from chicken and rice lol :D So if you are thinking about going veggie or vegan, or recently changed your diet, don't be worried about your protein, just plan well and you will be fine!