Recipe: Gluten free chewy banoffee protein bars

Before Christmas the team at Bulk Powders sent me a gorgeous hamper of goodies and asked me to come up with a recipe as part of their #CookItYourWhey challenge.

I haven’t tried any of Bulk Powders’ products before but have heard good things about them – the fact the stuff they sent me is all gluten free was a good start!

The hamper included some sachets of their banana flavoured Pure Whey. This is an 82% protein powder (normally when I train I opt for as high as possible –  currently I have a 97% one). I wasn’t sure about the banana flavour as it’s not my preferred choice but I thought it would be perfect paired with dates for a banoffee idea!

I was also sent some VitaFibre powder. This was very exciting as I’ve wanted to try cooking with this for ages. It’s a sugar/flour alternative, which is high in fibre and very low in sugar. I know the VitaFibre syrup is used to make Quest-style protein bars so I heated this with water to create my own syrup.

The macros of these bars are: Cals: 272; Protein: 8.4g; Fat: 2.9; Carbs: 15.5 (12.9 sugar). They would be idea for pre or post workout – I’m looking forward to having mine before a heavy legs session tomorrow! You can also check out the other #HaveItYourWhey recipes here.

Chewy banoffee protein bars

Makes eight bars

150g VitaFibre powder

75g banana flavoured Bulk Powders pure whey (82%)

40g water

30g ground almonds

6 medjool dates

1. Place the VitaFibre powder and water in a saucepan and heat on a low heat. Allow it to simmer but keep stirring and avoid it boiling too hard. Simmer for around 3-4 mins until the liquid starts to clear. Once it clears slightly, set aside in a bowl to cool for a couple of minutes.
2. Roughly chop the dates into chunks. Mix the almonds and protein powder in a bowl then add the dates and mix until they are coated. This will stop them sticking together.
3. Add the cooled VitaFibre/water mix and combine into a dough. This mixture will be very sticky, but don’t worry, it washed up easy as it dissolves in water!
4. Flatten the dough into a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper – or in a silicone tray. Freeze for half an hour and then cut into eight pieces.

It really is pretty simple, and the bars have a great nougat-like texture. Let me know if you like them! I am hoping to test the rest of the VitaFibre with some other recipes so stay tuned for more clean treats!