Pumpkin Protein Bars

I found this recipe on bodybuilding.com and it's from Jamie Eason (a fitness model).  She has a few other protein bar recipes on the website as well.  I made these a couple days ago and they are already gone.  Yep - amazing.  

Most people go to the gym and workout wanting to see results.  You'll get minimul to no results working out alone.  Exercise is usually not the problem.  The problem is people fail to invest in the other important areas, that in combination with exercise, give you the most results.  They're buying the lemonade stand without the lemonade, the new vehicle without the key to start it,  they're spending their time focusing on their exercise program that they fail to see the importance in a sound nutritional program.

Protein is so important in an active persons diet because it helps you repair muscle tissue after you break it down with training.  Protein will help you build muscle = makes you stronger!  Other areas that it helps is with digestion, maintenance of the body's water balance, protection against disease, carrying of oxygen and regulation of blood clotting.  So you can see that protein is very important in our diet.

Pumpkin Protein Bars

Ingredients:

½ C Xylitol Brown Sugar Blend (Ideal)

1- 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground clove

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 large egg whites

1- 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin

2 C oat flour

2 scoops vanilla whey protein

½ cup almond milk

½ C chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.

Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.

Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated.

Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and back for 30 min.

Makes 24 squares.

Nutrition (without walnuts): 1 square = 47 calories, .7 g fat, 8 g carbs, 3.7 g protein

Nutrition (with walnuts): 1 square = 63 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein

* For more protein in each bar - put 4 scoops of whey protein instead of the 2 scoops mentioned above.