Vegan, No Bake, Protein Bars

Vegan, No Bake, Protein Bars

I am always looking for snacks that are minimally processed, nutritionally dense, delicious and easy to make. One day I was at a friend's house and she handed me a snack that reminded me of something sinfully delicious I used to love...Special K Bars! However, knowing this friend, I knew I did not have to feel guilty about what I was eating and I just had to have the recipe! You could add some vegan chocolate chips to fancy them up - but they taste great as is.

Vegan, No Bake, Protein Bars

Ingredients:
• 2 cups organic peanut butter
• 1¾ cups honey or agave nectar
• 2¼ cups Arbonne Essentials™ Protein Shake Mix powder* (I use half vanilla and half chocolate)
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1½ cups of organic rice crispies cereal

Instructions:
1. Melt peanut butter and honey just until they are mixed. You can do this in the microwave for 60–90 seconds or on the stove.
2. Mix well.
3. Add Protein Shake Mix powder and mix well.
4. Add rolled oats and rice crispies and mix gently.
5. Spread in a 9x13 pan.
6. Refrigerate 1 hour.
7. Cut into 24 squares.

I like to wrap individual pieces in waxed paper and put into Oliver's lunch box or carry with us for a snack while we're out and about. They also make great airplane snacks!

To order the Arbonne Essentials™ Protein Shake Mix in either Vanilla or Chocolate please send me a message! It's vegan!!

Not All Peanut Butters Are Created Equal

It took me a long time to find the perfect peanut butter - but I did!
There are certain foods that I will only eat organically and peanut butter is one of them. If you have ever tried to use natural peanut butters you might have been frustrated like me when you couldn't spread it easily on bread. There's an oil slick on the top when you first open the jar and you must store it in the fridge - making it impossible to spread.

Popular brands of peanut butter such as Skippy and Jif add sugar and partially hydrogenated oil (trans fats) to their products - even to their so-called 'Natural' versions. Don't be fooled by their use of the word natural - it's a bogus ad campaign.

Don't despair...there is hope!

I have tried every brand of organic, salted, creamy peanut butter you can find and here is what I discovered. Maranatha's creamy, salted & roasted organic peanut butter is the best!! It is made with peanuts and salt only and tastes delicious!

Organic versions that say 'Easy Spread' have added oil emulsified into them to make them easy to spread. I do not want to add any more oil to our diets, so I stick with the regular one. The key is to make sure you thoroughly mix all the oil into the peanut butter when you first open the jar. If you do this, you will not have any troubles spreading it even though you are storing it in the fridge. Maranatha makes a variety of delicious nut butters including almond and cashew and can be found in Whole Foods or other natural food stores.
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