Okay, so I make my own protein bars because the Builder Bars are crap and they're too high in carbs for my tastes/needs. Anyway, here's my recipe.

Recipe: Yields 12 bars

Bars
2 cups nonfat plain soymilk (Westsoy in the purple box)
160g natural peanut butter at room temperature
360g plain rice protein powder
1/4 cup of water or a little less
3 tablespoons of stevia (Nustevia is best because it doesn't have a nasty aftertaste, I think.)

Topping
½ cup nonfat plain soymilk
105g dark chocolate pieces or chocolate chips

Mix the peanut butter and soymilk until the peanut butter and water are as one. Mix in the stevia. Then mix in the protein powder with a large fork or a wooden spoon. Add water until the mixture is sort of like a heavy clay consistency. Spread evenly in relatively shallow brownie pan. Refrigerate one hour.

Mix chocolate chips and soymilk in a pan on the stove over low heat. Stir continuously until the chocolate and soymilk is smooth and creamy. Very quickly pour chocolate onto the pan of bars. Spread with a spatula or hold pan up and roll chocolate around by tilting pan. Refrigerate for several hours and then cut into 12 equal bars.

Here is the calorie and macro break down:

Per bar

Cals 231
Protein 24 g
Carbs 11.25 g
Fat 9.4 g

Oh, the texture can range quite a bit depending on the amount of water you use. If you use soy powder instead of rice, you need to use more water.

And I keep these refrigerated, but I actually prefer to eat them at room temperature. They remind me of peanut butter chocolate pie or something.

I am going to try these using macadamia nut butter or almond nut butter and the mixed berry rice protein powder. Instead of chocolate chips I'm going to use those vegan white chocolate chips Pangea sells. If you're interested in knowing how they turn out, post on here and I'll let you know when I make them. They might end up tasting like total yogurt-fruity, sand-textured shit. We'll see though.

-Tamara

Admin: isn't slagging off Builder bars a banning offence?

Oh, so ban me.

But mine have more protein and fewer carbs and calories. And mine taste like pie. Sort of.

what could you sub for the stevia? i dont think you can get it here at all

No you can't get it here - stevia is not permiited as food or a food ingredient in the UK, or any EU state.

I guess I'd substitute powdered granulated cane crystals (vegan sugar) or one of the sugary syrups like maple syrup or agave nectar. Personally, I won't use any "fake" sweetener aside from stevia. The downside of adding sugar or syrup is that the cals and carbs will increase quite a bit, which would sort of negate the whole "high protein/low carb" idea. But if that's not what you're after, I guess it doesn't matter.

*I powder my own sugar by running it through a food processor for a long time.

how come?

I think it's because they still have doubts over its safety (early animal research suggested it had mutagenic properties), although the WHO says these policies are outdated.

holy smokes, i have to make those bars. i used to be huge into builder bars, but i too have changed my attitude about "unnecessary" carbs and i just can't even really stomach the taste of builder bars anymore.

Tamara, photos of the bars please.

Hah. It's not that I'm avoiding carbs, I'd just rather eat them in real food (fruits and veggies) rather than in my protein bars. I also rarely indulge in real sweets, so I like to reserve my unnecessary carb intake for those seldom moments (see pictures of my cakes on the food thread and the cake thread).

This is pretty gross, but whenever I find myself eating Builder Bars, I tend to just peel the chocolate/protein/goo layer off the rice crispy part, eat that, and then toss the rice crispy part in the trash. I know. It's a waste, which is why I just don't bother with them anymore.



Here ya go! Disclaimer: Generally I would only post pictures of yummy looking or beautiful food. These do not stand up to my abnormally high standard for food aesthetics.





I took and included the second picture (the one with me) to show scale.

Note about consistency/texture: The rice protein powder is grainy, so if you're not used to that, don't let it catch you off guard. The soy protein powder is less grainy, but it can make the bars sort of gooey. I'm trying to decrease my soy intake, which is why I use rice protein powder instead of soy.

-Tamara

If you do that then you're throwing away pretty much all of the protein. It's not rice crispies, it's made from soy protein isolate, roasted soybeans, soy flour, almonds, oats and flax.

yeah, i'm the same way. i get my carbs from oats, brown rice and some fruit, but that's it usually. i don't eat sweets or empty calorie food (which are the unnecessary carbs i was speaking of).

the concept of taking pictures of food is very strange to me. i eat plain TVP and am thankful that i am in a position to get enough food to eat everyday. cake is so foreign to me that i might not even recognize it if i saw it

Tamara, they look delicious! I live in PA. Can I come down this weekend and make a batch with you? Pretty please.

Sure! Beware, though, I have two very excitable doggies. And Saturday I will be spending my morning glued to the intarwebz trying to get Iron Maiden tickets for the summer concert at Merriweather Post.

Where are you in PA?