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I hope that everyone had an great weekend. We spent the weekend with some wonderful friends. My husband’s college roommate and his wife was in town. We hadn’t seen them in over 3 years, so it was great to spend 2 full days with them. We ate way too much food, but it was worth it. Today they leave, and another friend shows up for a visit. It is a jam packed week! This afternoon we also get to go meet the teacher day at school. I can’t believe I am going to have a 4th grader tomorrow. Time is just going by way too fast!
With the end of summer coming, and back to school it is seriously time to start thinking about lunch box ideas and after school snacks. My 9 year old eats more than I do these days, so I am always looking for something that will fill him up, but is also healthy. These protein bars are perfect! A friend actually gave me the recipe after her son was in the hospital recovering from surgery. Some of the nurses brought him homemade snacks to help the kids get energy and hopefully get moving quicker. Her son absolutely loved these protein bars, so I knew that I had to make them.
Unfortunately none of the nurses could really give her a recipe. They tended to just dump in what they had, so they were slightly different each time. Well, my friend Sherri is nothing, if not determined, so she tested and tested and tested the recipe until she came up with these. According to her, they might even be better than the original! I made them while my son was gone one day. I had them cooling when he came home, and he immediately asked for one. I was on the phone, so I didn’t get a chance to tell him what they were. I was worried he would be expecting a chocolate chip cookie and be disappointed. But he wasn’t, he said they tasted like dessert and he loved them. These protein bars are great for snacks, lunch box treats, or even breakfast. Plus, you can easily change up the recipe each time, so you never get tired of them!
Walnut Protein Bar
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup Rolled oats
- 1 cup ground oats
- 3 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine peanut butter, honey, canola oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until well combined. In a separate bowl mix together rolled oats, ground oats, flax seed, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold into the peanut butter mixture. Add chocolate chips and nuts; mix until combined.
- Spread into prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Perfect lunch box treats!
I agree with Christine—great lunch box treats. And great treats to have with my morning coffee too
These do sound good, but unless myfitnesspal is miscalculating, I only see 3 grams of protein per bar? Seems kinda low for something specifically called a “protein bar”.
John – I did not run the nutritional information. Many of the ingredients (oats, flaxseed, peanut butter, and walnuts) are all high in protein. This was also just the name given to me by the nurses who made the recipe. So that is why it is named that way.
These look delicious! I’m heading over to the Imperial Sugar site to get the recipe right now!
I need these bars in my life – they look great!
Every year I can’t believe that I’m old enough to have a kiddo in school. It’s going too fast! THese bars will go too fast as well I’m sure!