World’s greatest homemade protein bars?

By John Berardi, PhD, CSCS

A few weeks back I popped over to Phil’s house for a visit. Hungry, as usual, I pulled open his fridge in search of nourishment. Expecting to find standard PN fare – lean meat, a ton of fruits and veggies, etc. – I gasped in suprise as my eyes beheld a bake pan containing some sort of cake-like dessert.

“What’s this crap?” I asked with all the sensitivity of a hardened nutrition task-master.

“Crap? Those are my new creation. Give them a try. High protein, made of mixed nuts and whole oats. You’ll like them.”

Like I said, I was hungry. So I cut small square and dug in. After one single bite, I almost promoted Phil to Supreme Dictator of Precision Nutrition. The Caravaggio Bar was that good.

The Caravaggio Bar

So, my friends, after convincing Phil to share his secret bar recipe with me, I’ve decided to share it with you.

Here’s how to make your very own Caravaggio Bars…

Ingredients:

3 cups cranberry trail mix
3 cups mixed nuts
1 cup large flake oats
10 scoops (20g protein/scoop) vanilla protein powder
2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp honey

Instructions:

Chop the cranberry mix and mixed nuts in a food processor. Mix with large flake oats and protein powder in a large bowl (as big as you can find, otherwise you may have to do this in two batches).

Add just enough water to wet all the protein powder so that it doesn’t have a chalky consistency. Next, add 1 tbsp molasses, spread over whole batch, and mix thoroughly. After that, add 1 tbsp honey and do the same. Repeat with 1 more tablespoon of each sweetener. If the mix is too dry, add a little water; if too wet, add a little protein.

Lay plastic wrap across the bottom of two 9 x 9 or similar baking dishes, leaving enough wrap on each side to wrap around the mixture and cover the top. Spoon the mix into the baking dishes on top of the wrap, and pack it in with the spoon. Cover the mix with the extra wrap, then flatten the mix with your hands. Refrigerate. No baking required.

Cut into 20 bars, 10 in each baking dish. And enjoy.

Notes:

Keep the mix in the fridge and covered or else it will dry out.

These bars are wicked good so make sure not to overeat them. Even though the ingredients are healthy, 2 or 3 small squares will net you 600-900 calories. And that’s alot for a little snack.