I have to come clean about something here.

My kids love bars.

My daughter loves them so much she asks me for a bar about 30 times a day and I do not exaggerate that number in the slightest.

As a mom, I like the idea of a bar.  You know…a small, portable (!!), always ready, snack that has the capacity to hold a protein, fat and carbohydrate for blood sugar balance–something I know all kids need in a meal or snack.  But just like everything that comes out of a box, the bars bought at the store have ingredients I’m not totally comfortable with like vegetable oils, GMOs, gluten and sugar.  Historically we’ve gone through phases of making them ourselves but they usually only last for 5 days in the fridge and I’m always out of them when I need them.

But not anymore.

My son and I developed these freezer protein bars that we keep in…you guessed it…the freezer.  The kids LOVE them.  In fact these bars are only encouraging my kids to continuously ask me for a bar.  Mom, can I have a bar?  Mom, can I have a bar?  MOM…

OMG my ears might explode.

It’s an issue we’re working through.

I wrap each of them in a small piece of parchment paper so they are all ready to go when we head out to the park. This is our new favorite snack-on-the-go.  We use this brand of sprouted rice puffs and they hold together better than anything I’ve used before.  I hope your kids love them too.

PS–you don’t want to make your own bars?  These are the bars we buy if we have to.

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DIY Freezer Protein Bars for Kids

Prep Time

10 mins

Total Time

10 mins

 

Course: Snack

Servings: 15 bars

Author: Kula Mama

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 raw almonds
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 shakes cinnamon
• 1-1/2 cups puffed rice (see the brand we use above)

Instructions

1. In a food processor add the cashews and almonds and process until they are a coarse powder.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat combine the maple syrup and almond butter and melt together.
3. Remove saucepan from heat and add the vanilla and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
4. In a medium mixing bowl combine the melted maple syrup mixture and the ground up nuts from the food processor. Mix them together.
5. Add the puffed rice to the bowl. Stir to combine.
6. In a 8 inch square pyrex dish (prepare it with a little coconut oil or butter first so the bars don't stick) pour in the bar mixture and press down with greased hands or a greased piece of parchment paper to flatten the mixture. The mixture won't cover the entire pan most likely, but flatten them out as much as you can.
7. Stick dish in freezer for 30 minutes. This will set the bars. After 30 minutes take the bars out and cut them into the bar size you want (we did them in a rectangle like the photo shows) and wrap them individually in parchment paper. I put all the bars into a gallon freezer bag and keep in the freezer. When my kids want a bar they simply pull an individual bar out of the bag and we take it with us. They can be eaten frozen (not too hard at all) or room temp (they will crumble more at room temp but they still hold together). My kids much prefer them frozen.
8. Enjoy!