No Bake Chocolate Protein Bars

• 1 cup raw nuts (I used pecans)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 packet (1.5 oz) of plant-based vanilla protein powder (I used Garden of Life)
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips, ideally with no refined sugar. You can also use these homemade 3 ingredient chocolate bars instead!
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Spray a square cooking pan, 8 by 8, with coconut oil. Alternatively, you can use muffin tins and just cut them in half at the end!
2. Chop 1/4 cup of the nuts and set them aside.
3. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of nuts and the salt to either a powerful blender (Bullet, Vitamix) or a food processor. Blend until you have nut butter (the butter shouldn’t have any big chunks left in it and should stick together, but will still be crumbly).
4. Add the oats, protein powder, and maple syrup, and blend until smooth.
5. Press mixture into the pan or tin with your fingers. Top with the chopped nuts and press them into the bars.
6. Microwave chocolate chips or coconut chocolate bars in a glass bowl until melted. Drizzle chocolate over the protein bars.
7. Put the bars in the fridge for 20 minutes before cutting. This will give them a chance to harden.

What’s your favorite protein bar recipe? Post in the comments!

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