Low Carb Keto Protein Bars Rich in Healthy Fat

If you’re serious about losing weight as quickly as possible, then you can’t go wrong by following a keto style diet – low carb, high fat, and moderate protein meals are the way to go. Today’s recipe makes low carb keto protein bars that are rich in healthy fat. You’ll be using not just one, not just two, but FOUR coconut ingredients to provide a ton of quality fats and great tasting coconut flavor to your protein bars. And while the coconut ingredients cover the high fat content of this recipe, you’ll also be mixing in ½ cup of vanilla flavored protein powder to make sure that the bars provide plenty of protein as well. The end result is a protein bar that not only covers all your nutritional bases, but also makes losing weight as easy as possible – what’s not to love about that?

Coconut Flavored Protein Bars Are My Favorite Protein Bars

You’re going to need to use a food processor to combine your protein powder with four tablespoons of coconut flour and 10 tablespoons of unsweetened finely shredded coconut. Using coconut flour works great as an alternative to wheat flour when making healthy recipes like this because it’s so nutrient-dense. It’s a great source of saturated fat, dietary fiber, and it even has a moderate amount of protein. The shredded coconut flakes offer more of the same nutrients, with studies actually finding that coconut flakes are helpful in lowering cholesterol levels in individuals with moderately raised serum cholesterol. (1)

While the food processor is running, you can gradually add in two tablespoons of melted coconut oil. I love including coconut oil in this recipe, since it’s another one of those ingredients that I use for all kinds of different things – it’s incredibly versatile! You can use it to make bulletproof coffee (another keto staple), as a cooking oil, as a moisturizer for your skin and hair, and you can even use it as an antibacterial mouthwash. I even eat it right off the spoon as an easy way to get more quality fat calories in on a daily basis. It’s also good for your health, as daily consumption of virgin coconut oil has been shown to increase the good kind of HDL cholesterol. (2)

Finally, you’re also going to need to add in four tablespoons of full fat coconut milk and some liquid Stevia for sweetening the bars up a bit. The reason this protein bar recipe uses so many different types of coconut ingredients is due to the fact their fat content is mostly made up of medium chain triglyceride (MCTs) fatty acids. MCT fats are fantastic for anyone following a keto diet, as they’re able to help with both entering and remaining in ketogenesis – the process of your body burning fat for fuel instead of the glucose provided by carbs and sugar. Your body converts MCT fats directly into energy, making them a great choice for anyone trying to lose weight. (3)

After freezing your protein bars for a couple of hours, dip each of them in some melted sugar free dark chocolate (more healthy fats!) before freezing them for an additional 30 minutes. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a keto-friendly protein bar that’s as tasty as this recipe, but I’m pretty partial to both coconut and chocolate to begin with. If you are too, then you’re definitely going to love these bars.

While protein bars are undoubtedly an incredibly convenient way to make sure you’re getting an adequate amount of protein in on a daily basis, they definitely have a few down sides. A lot of protein bar brands are rather expensive when compared with the prices for other sources of protein. And unfortunately, quite often the quality of protein bars can be hit or miss. However, you can avoid both of those downsides with great recipes like the one I’ll be sharing today for making the healthiest protein bars you can make from home. When you make your own homemade protein bars with all-natural healthy ingredients, you can rest assured that your bars are both 100% nutritious and delicious.

All-Natural Protein Bars Are the Best Protein Bars

Another thing I find with most store bought protein bars is the fact they can taste more than a little bland. While there are certainly some exceptions, most of them are pretty yucky to be honest. That’s why I love this recipe so much. It uses a few high quality ingredients that doesn’t just result in a truly yummy protein bar, but one that’s incredibly nutrient-dense as well. It all starts by adding in two tablespoons of vanilla flavored protein powder and ¼ cup of goji berries into a food processor. Goji berries were a hugely popular detox food for a while, and for good reason. They’re a potent source of antioxidants that also provide antidiabetic properties, cardiovascular health benefits, and they may even help improve cognitive and sexual health. (1)

Along with the protein powder and goji berries, you’ll also need to add in ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds. They help to add a bit of extra protein to your bars, along with a lot of dietary fiber, magnesium, iron, potassium, and zinc. They’re also a great source of disease-fighting antioxidants in their own right. You’ll also need to add ¼ cup of almonds into the mix, which provides even more fiber for your bars along with a large amount of heart healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. Almonds are actually one of my favorite healthy snacks to enjoy, and daily almond consumption has even been shown to be effective at reducing cardiometabolic risk factors by helping to lower LDL cholesterol levels. (2)

Turn the food processor on after adding in the aforementioned ingredients, and while it’s running, slowly add in two tablespoons of cashew butter. The cashew butter helps to hold your bars together while also adding in a bit of extra protein and dietary fat. Cashews are also similar to almonds when it comes to being great for your cardiovascular health, as cashew consumption has also been found to reduce total and LDL cholesterol. (3) Next, slowly add in one tablespoon of almond milk at a time until you get a firm dough that you can shape with your hands. I like using almond milk for making my protein bar recipes because it provides pretty much all of the same great benefits as the raw almonds do – plus it tastes great.

After freezing your protein bars for a minimum of two hours, you can then dip each of them into your prepared melted dark chocolate (make sure it’s sugar free). Not only does the dark chocolate coating help to make sure your protein bars taste great, but it adds even more antioxidants and heart healthy fats to them as well. Dark chocolate is well known to provide some fantastic cardiovascular health benefits – it fits in perfectly with everything else used in this recipe. (4) Once you’ve dipped the bars in the coating, you can finish them off by sprinkling them with extra goji berries and almonds before freezing them one last time for about 30 minutes.

More Protein Bar Recipes:

5-Ingredient Homemade Protein Bars (Easy Recipe)
The Healthiest Protein Bars You Can Make at Home
No Bake Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Bars
Double Chocolate Nut-Free Protein Bars (Keto and Paleo-friendly)
Homemade Fudgy Brownie Keto Protein Bars
6-Ingredient Vegan Nut Crunch Protein Bars

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