homemade protein bar... close, but...

zebasschick
zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
in Food and Nutrition
i've been experimenting with making my own protein bars, brownies and cookies with very low fat and 200 calories or less per bar. today, i tried adding some corn fiber to help it hold together, used a little almond flour, protein powder, egg white, calorie free chocolate syrup, baking powder and yogurt and just a little oil.

and these would have been a rousing success - they hold together well, they rose in the oven, they have 21 grams of protein each, they taste pretty good. the catch? they're the driest thing i've ever eaten in my life, and i'm not kidding. i guess that fiber was the problem...next time, i'll either use more oil or add shredded zucchini.

so close, but... LOL
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Replies

  • LifeChangz
    LifeChangz Posts: 457 Member
    would added liquid, more chocolate syrup or water help? shredded zuchini is an interesting idea and would not increase cals, if that is a concern. nut butters come to mind but that changes the load, eh?
  • pamperedlinny
    pamperedlinny Posts: 1,548 Member
    Whenever you get it just right I hope you share the recipe.
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
    Maybe some pumpkin puree? or some apple sauce? Banana?
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
    LifeChangz wrote: »
    would added liquid, more chocolate syrup or water help? shredded zuchini is an interesting idea and would not increase cals, if that is a concern. nut butters come to mind but that changes the load, eh?

    i'll be trying more chocolate syrup and more yogurt tomorrow. yeah, nut butters add fat and calories, but also i never liked protein bars with almonds or peanut butter, although i like them otherwise.
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    Maybe some pumpkin puree? or some apple sauce? Banana?

    i need to keep the calories low, and since i'm a type 2 diabetic who relies on diet and exercise to control blood sugar, none of those are on the menu for me. also they change the taste.
    pamperedlinny wrote: »
    Whenever you get it just right I hope you share the recipe.

    i absolutely will! btw, i'm using DaVinci Gourmet Sugar Free Syrup, Chocolate, and while i'd say it's a liquid and not a syrup, it doesn't matter. it REALLY adds a chocolate bang to yogurt, milk, coffee and whatever it's added to.

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,400 Member
    If you have access to liquid whey, it keeps things most and if used in conjunction with baking soda or baking powder and egg or egg whites, gives just about anything a nice rise, too.

    (Add the whey last and bake immediately. The whey related rise only lasts 10-15 minutes so you want your oven preheated and ready to go.

    I have quarts of it on hand from making homemade skyr or yogurt. You could also drain yogurt or Greek yogurt, use the whey in your bars and then have a nice low cal cream cheese to go on top!
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,400 Member
    edited March 2023
    Even plain old yogurt or kefir would work. You can make great low cal cupcakes with nothing but a box of cake mix and kefir or yogurt.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,869 Member
    I make my own jerky from beef, venison and bison which is packed with high quality protein and low in calories. Probably not what your interested in but thought I'd mention it, plus I'm low carb, so it works for me. cheers.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
    neanderthin wrote: »
    I make my own jerky from beef, venison and bison which is packed with high quality protein and low in calories. Probably not what your interested in but thought I'd mention it, plus I'm low carb, so it works for me. cheers.

    sounds good, but i'm a vegetarian.

    just curious, but how do you dehydrate it?

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,869 Member
    edited March 2023
    zebasschick wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    I make my own jerky from beef, venison and bison which is packed with high quality protein and low in calories. Probably not what your interested in but thought I'd mention it, plus I'm low carb, so it works for me. cheers.

    sounds good, but i'm a vegetarian.

    just curious, but how do you dehydrate it?

    I use a dehydrator, but the oven works as well. I'll marinate with my blend for around 12-15 hours, in the fridge of coarse. It's a 6 shelf dehydrator and I set the temp to around 140-150 degree's for 4 or 5 hours, generally speaking. Cheers
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,400 Member
    @neanderthin I dry mine in a Ninja Foodi. It does it in a fraction of the time, the texture is just right , and it’s way easier to clean up than the racks in my dehydrator. They were a freaking nightmare to clean. I gave the dehydrator away once I realized how easy it was in the Foodi. You can’t do as much at once but it’s still faster and better results.

    How do you cut your meat? I gave up because slicing uniformly was such an aggravation but the price of prepared jerky has gone through the roof and I’m ready to try again.

    Your recipe? I use soy, pineapple juice, ginger and whatever else grabs me at the moment.

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,869 Member
    edited March 2023
    springlering62 wrote: »
    @neanderthin I dry mine in a Ninja Foodi. It does it in a fraction of the time, the texture is just right , and it’s way easier to clean up than the racks in my dehydrator. They were a freaking nightmare to clean. I gave the dehydrator away once I realized how easy it was in the Foodi. You can’t do as much at once but it’s still faster and better results.

    How do you cut your meat? I gave up because slicing uniformly was such an aggravation but the price of prepared jerky has gone through the roof and I’m ready to try again.

    Your recipe? I use soy, pineapple juice, ginger and whatever else grabs me at the moment.

    I'm a chef and have access to restaurant equipment and use an electric slicer for meat. Good you found something you like to use. If you use flank or eye of the round for example and throw it in the freezer, not litterally lol, until very firm, almost frozen, the slicing is much easier and uniformity is pretty much a given, and I'm sure you know to cut against the grain but just thought I'd mention that, although some like it with the grain for a chewier consistency, which is not my preference.


    I have quite a few different recipes, but the one I'm using now is teriyaki sauce, which I make from scratch, tamarind,garlic and onion powder, coriander powder, chili flakes and maple syrup from my friends sugar shack that was just made and a touch of local honey. The beef I'm using now are retired dairy cattle from a local farm which I buy in bulk. Cheers
  • paints5555
    paints5555 Posts: 1,228 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    If you have access to liquid whey, it keeps things most and if used in conjunction with baking soda or baking powder and egg or egg whites, gives just about anything a nice rise, too.

    (Add the whey last and bake immediately. The whey related rise only lasts 10-15 minutes so you want your oven preheated and ready to go.

    I have quarts of it on hand from making homemade skyr or yogurt. You could also drain yogurt or Greek yogurt, use the whey in your bars and then have a nice low cal cream cheese to go on top!

    Liquid whey will have a lot of lactose in it so probably not something to use if she is trying to limit sugars.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    If you have access to liquid whey, it keeps things most and if used in conjunction with baking soda or baking powder and egg or egg whites, gives just about anything a nice rise, too.

    (Add the whey last and bake immediately. The whey related rise only lasts 10-15 minutes so you want your oven preheated and ready to go.

    I have quarts of it on hand from making homemade skyr or yogurt. You could also drain yogurt or Greek yogurt, use the whey in your bars and then have a nice low cal cream cheese to go on top!

    i missed this post somehow. i'll have to try and find liquid whey.

    my first attempt - the dry one - had egg white, yogurt and baking soda, and it rose well. today's attempt was too wet, came out more like a pudding. next time, hopefully, will come out somewhere in between.

  • LifeChangz
    LifeChangz Posts: 457 Member
    still waiting for good results, onwards... lol
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
    it appears that the problem is not what i thought. this particular protein powder turns into a dry curdle when put in hot liquid, so i'd say it's the issue.

    next attempt with different brand/consistency of protein powder!
  • LifeChangz
    LifeChangz Posts: 457 Member
    nods - i have a whey protein powder that curdles when liquid is too hot too.
  • paints5555
    paints5555 Posts: 1,228 Member
    zebasschick wrote: »
    it appears that the problem is not what i thought. this particular protein powder turns into a dry curdle when put in hot liquid, so i'd say it's the issue.

    next attempt with different brand/consistency of protein powder!

    I think what springlering62 had suggested was whey which is very different from whey protein. Protein level is a lot lower and sugars are higher. You might have more success with sweet whey powder.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,400 Member
    edited March 2023
    She was looking for something to moisten the bars, hence the liquid whey.

    I use both liquid whey and Naked brand whey in my pancakes, along with a ton of egg whites, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, all to bump up protein. The liquid whey and yogurt make them very moist and fluffy.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
    i can't find liquid whey by searching "liquid whey". is there a brand or product name?

    i'm going to try a quick bake with a different protein powder and see if it fares better.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,400 Member
    edited March 2023
    It’s a byproduct of yogurt and cheesemaking.

    I accumulate it two ways. I strain yogurt to make a cream cheese. The liquid that drains off is whey.

    Or, you get it straining the heated and set milk when making homemade yogurt or skyr.

    I get about two quarts of whey for every gallon of skim milk I use. (It’s ultimately more than a gallon because you mix rennet in water, plus you add a serving size of the last batch to ”seed” the next, so you ultimately end up straining a gallon and a pint.) Two quarts of whey and about ten servings skyr.

    There is a listing here that’s fairly close. Someone calculated 60 calories per cup of homemade whey. I ran the numbers using 100 calories per cup of homemade skyr with that quantity of skim milk and and the numbers tallied.

    I wonder if kefir would work? It’s readily available. I was making homemade kefir for a while and using it to make cupcakes. They were light and fluffy with no ingredients except a box of cake mix and kefir.

    I gave up on kefir making because its so warm here my kefir grains were producing way more than we could ever drink and we certainly couldn’t eat that many cupcakes without blowing calories. We even got to the point we were blending the kefir grains themselves into smoothies. (Supposed probiotic effects. ) I felt bad making kefir regularly just to throw it out, to keep the grains from spoiling.

    The kefir situation was so frenetic, we jokingly called the kefir jar Tribbles, it was that bad.

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