Nutrient-Dense Seed and Nut Vegan Protein Bars

One of the most common misconceptions about individuals living a vegan lifestyle is that they struggle to get an adequate amount of protein in their diet. This is completely false, as there are plenty of excellent protein sources available to vegans. As proof of that, just check out the recipe I’ll be sharing today for making nutrient-dense seed and nut vegan protein bars. At first glance, you might be thinking there’s absolutely no way that a protein bar made with seed and nuts could be that tasty. Don’t fall into that trap! Trust me when I tell you – these protein bars are ridiculously good. I’m personally not a vegan and this recipe is still one of my favorite ways to make protein bars.

Super Healthy & Super Delicious Vegan Protein Bars

The first thing that you’re going to be doing is placing ¼ cup of protein powder, two tablespoons of raw cacao powder, and three tablespoons of coconut flour into your food processor. The raw cacao powder and coconut flour compliment one another perfectly, with each ingredient adding a solid mix of healthy fat and dietary fiber to your protein bars in a 100% vegan-friendly way. The cacao is also rich in methylxanthine antioxidants, which provide a wide range of fantastic health benefits, including reducing your risk of heart disease, improving insulin sensitivity, and even helping you to have a better nights sleep. (1)

In addition, you’ll be adding a mix of three different types of seeds – one tablespoon each of sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and two tablespoons of hemp seeds. All three seed varieties help to add a solid amount of antioxidants, dietary fiber, protein, healthy fat, and essential vitamins and minerals to the recipe. Not only that, but studies have also found that regular consumption of plant seeds is associated with a reduced risk of both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. (2)

To round out the recipe, you’ll also be adding in two tablespoons of walnuts and ¼ cup of goji berries to the food processor. Walnuts (along with raw almonds and cashews) are one of my favorite healthy snacks to enjoy, and they fit in perfectly with this recipe. They provide a good mix of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and quality fats. And just like with plant seeds, regular consumption of walnuts (and other types of nuts) has been linked to lower incidences of cardiovascular disease and death thanks to their abundance of heart healthy fatty acids. (3) Goji berries are quite nutrient-dense as well, and one small scale study found a link between individuals drinking goji berry juice having an increased sense of well being. (4)

Process everything in the food processor to combine, and then slowly add in three tablespoons of unsweetened almond milk, one tablespoon at a time until you can shape the dough with your hands. From here, simply transfer your dough to an 8×4 baking pan, press evenly with a spatula, and freeze for 45 minutes before enjoying them. I’m sure you’ll agree that these are quite possibly the yummiest vegan protein bars you’ve ever tried after just one bite.

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:

Low Carb Keto Protein Bars Rich in Healthy Fat
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

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