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Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Bars - YUM!

October 4, 2010   31 Comments

You would expect that a food blog called Lilveggiepatch.com would be set in a rural spot like Athens, GA.

Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Bars - YUM!

But, Katie, lives in New York City!!! Where is her Lil Veggie Patch? On her fire escape perhaps?

She writes a blog about healthy eating with some AWESOME photos. She shared this guest post with Snack Girl readers:

My name is Katie, and I blog about my passion for food, health, and New York City life over at Lilveggiepatch.com . I’m thrilled to be guest posting for Lisa, as she and I share a lot of the same ideas about what “health” means to us.

When it comes to eating, the most important criteria when it comes to picking the most healthful and nutritious options is to choose foods that are as close to their original form as possible. I feel the best, and have the highest energy levels, when I’m treating my body to top-quality ingredients.

lilveggiepatch

(Sometimes, those ingredients include wine!)

I’m a recent college graduate and currently work in a restaurant, so while a good portion of my money does go to restaurant experiences and fun ingredients, I do have to watch my budget. Because I do work long hours in a restaurant and tend to snack a lot, I’ve had to get creative with portable- and economical- snacks I bring with me to work.

My favorite snack to eat around midday are these Chocolate Pumpkin Protein bars. They’re tasty, filling, and cheap to make. Plus, I know what’s in them!

ingredients1

Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Bars Recipe (Vegan)

Makes 8 Bars

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup protein powder
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate peanut butter OR 1/2 cup peanut butter + 1 T cocoa powder
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
3 Tablespoons prunes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350˚ and coat a 9″ x 12″ pan (or whatever you’ve got) with cooking spray. Combine first five ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, mix agave, pumpkin, and sugar. Stir in peanut butter and mix well.

pumpkinpeanutbutter

Add wet to dry and stir until well combined.

oatspeanutbutter

Stir in chopped prunes and pumpkin seeds. Evenly press batter into pan. This will require a bit of work; as the batter is on the dry side, you’ll have to redistribute it so the bars will cook evenly.

energy-bars

Bake for 15 minutes and NO LONGER. Trust me, they’re done! Allow to cool, then cut into 8 bars. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts for one bar:

299 calories, 11.1 g fat, 40.2 g carbohydrates, 19.2 g sugar, 13.2 g protein, 4.0 g fiber, 255 mg sodium, 8 Points+

Thanks for reading! And many thanks again to Lisa for letting me post. Please feel free to stop on by Lilveggiepatch.com and say hi!

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31 Comments:

These look so good! Do you have any idea what the calorie count would be in one?

@Carol - great question! I ran this through my calorie counter and got 280 calories per bar (which doesn't surprise me because this is not a low cal recipe). Instead of 8 bars - make 16! and then you have a more reasonable snack. These are VERY healthy - but nuts and fruit have lots of calories :(

Thanks! I was thinking they would be a little higher in calories. I might tweek it a little to. It might not need protein powder and peanut butter.

This sounds amazing!!!! Can't wait to hit the grocery store...I'm always lookng for good vegan snacks!

I think my 2 year old would love these! Do you have to use the agave nector? If so, is there anything I could replace it with?

These look delicious! Not too high in calorie for a great on-the-go breakfast bar (my fav!). Can't wait to make them.

Am going to try that recipe today! I just bought canned pumpkin. I am always looking for fun new snacks that I can make and take along with me. My daughter is 2 and I am very into using foods that come from natural sources and baking my own goodies so I know exactly what goes into them!

Thanks

@JoAnne- you can use honey instead of agave nectar - maple syrup too.

This sounds delicious and I love that it is a portable snack! Yay! We actually have pumpkins growing in our backyard and I intend to do some cooking with them. I can't wait to try this recipe. I wonder if the agave nector could be swapped for honey? I would think so... I've actually never bought or used agave nector...

Snack Girl, these look yummy. What do you use when you run a recipe through a calorie counter? An online service or is there software you would recommend as a download? Thanks.

@Sue - I use http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

I hope it is helpful.

THANK YOU!!!

Looks super yummy! I love recipes like this - so easy to mix and match ingredients.

Sounds great! I'm aways looking for ways to add more protein. And I can't resist pumpkin anything!

I'm thinking add a glass of milk for a quick breakfast.

Oh, yum, this looks and sounds great! Love to haves snacks that are portable!

Yum! These look great. To the person concerned about calories, consider that these are highly nutritious calories - and something like this will keep you satisfied for hours! I'd eat something like this as part of my breakfast, honestly. :)

I can't tell you how much my family loves these bars! What a great snack that is easy to make and perfect for the fall season but I will be making these regardless of the season!

I made these for me and my husband to have as our after workout snacks and they are perfect!

Oh wow... those look awesome! I love making bars at home (when I have the time) and I bet these are pretty rich and delicious with the pumpkin, peanut butter, and prunes. *Adds items to shopping list* :)

Can I use mashed sweet potato instead of pumpkin? and baby rice cereal instead of protein powder? Looking for something my toddler and preschooler can both enjoy on our holiday travels.

If you take out the protein powder and peanut butter, won't the outcome be a bit...different than it was suppose to be?

Hey.... what's wrong with Athens, Ga?? We're actually a food lovers dream town..

Other than that, looks delish!

Do you know the fat, carb, protein, calories per bar?

@Chris - you can always use http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php to get an idea of calorie amount. For one bar:

307 calories, 11.4 g fat, 38.5 g carbohydrates, 15.8 g protein, 3.9 g fiber, 270 mg sodium

Any idea of the Weight Watcher POINTS for these delicious-looking bars?

I asked my husband if he would like to swap out his store-bought protein bars for these and he declined, as the protein content is too low. he thought they should be labeled 'snack bars' rather than 'protein bars'.

@Terri - I found that it is 8 pointsplus per bar. I would just cut these in half to get a more reasonable snack.

Can't wait to try it, but as a native of Athens, GA, I need to say that it's not rural! Athens is a vibrant college town known for its music, diversity, arts community and amazing restaurants. You can certainly find rural in Georgia, but Athens is far from the first place to look.

I avoid traditional sugar. Do you have a suggestion of something lower calorie and natural I could use as a replacement (ie maple syrup, bananas, applesauce, stevia, more agave, molasses, etc)

I changed the peanut butter to PB2 (powdered peanut butter -- way less fat!) and ran this through the Weight Watchers recipe builder.

5 Points Plus!

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