After Women’s Running Magazine posted a recipe for lentil granola bars, I was thoroughly intrigued and took to the kitchen to find out if beans could really be used to make a sweeter tasting treat…and of course a healthy one!
Since their ingredient list didn’t totally work for me and my recent time in the kitchen has made me confident enough to improvise and create a clean eating treat that fit my personal guidelines (dairy free, gluten free, low to no added sugar), I went to town.
The result were suprisingly good and EASY lentil bars.
Red Lentil Museli Bars
How about a high protein, low sugar, dairy free, gluten free bar to recover after your next run? And yes it’s even cooler that this bar is made of lentils because it means you’re mixing up your nutrition sources!
Eating the same foods on repeat (my normal MO) can actually create food intolerances!!! It also leaves us with nutritional gaps.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup dried red lentils, rinsed
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 5 drops stevia
- 1/3 cup OANB Almond butter
- 1 1/2 cups Love Grown Oats mixture {my custom mix had GF oats, goji berries, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds}
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs
- 1 scoop Vega Vanilla protein powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. hazelnut extract {try almond or vanilla too}
Directions
- Cook lentils – roughly 1 1/4 cup of water with lentils. Let simmer until water is absorbed..then until just slightly over cooked whole mixture is a little mushy.
- Remove from heat and put in nut butter {this will melt it}
- Toss in all of remaining ingredients in and stir {no food processor}
- Spray a baking dish and press mixture in
- Refrigerate 2 hours, then cut and serve {this step is crucial}
I froze half so I could enjoy some now, some later!! Also ensures that I don’t turn them in to a meal rather than a treat!
Beans in your dessert?! A fun high protein twist with lentils #glutenfree Click To Tweet
BENEFITS OF THESE BARS
Chocolate needs no benefit, but anything I take the time to bake needs to be serving these running legs!
Maple syrup: Supplies zinc and manganese which are great for immunity!
Cacao nibs: From the raw cacao bean it’s a mood/energy booster, supplies magnesium which 80% of people are deficient in, improves circulation and has been shown to reduce appetite…plus hello it’s chocolate.
Red Lentils: Protein rich and have been shown to make you feel fuller longer!
GF Oats: Whether you have a known problem with gluten or not, if they option tastes just as good why would you mess with anything else! Great carbohydrate full of fiber.
Checkout my dessert hummus for another great way to create high protein eat clean dessert!
Have you ever made a dessert with beans??
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