If you surf the internet, you’ll find recipe after recipe for protein bars. Sometimes in order to make the perfect bar, you need to try a lot of recipes, play with them, add or remove ingredients and modify them to fit your style. For me, it also means making sure my recipes are GAPS legal. I stumbled across a few recipes, combined them and made a lot of modifications to make them Full GAPS legal, and they are delicious! They are so easy to make that the kids can definitely help you out on this one! Let’s talk about collagen peptides, and I’m sure you’ve heard about them lately since they’ve been so popular! I’ve added collagen peptides to these bars! Collagen peptides are short chain amino acids naturally derived from pasture-raised, grass-fed collagen protein. Collagen peptides contain the same amino acids as gelatin which are identical to the protein found in skin, nails, hair, bones, cartilage, and joints. Collagen peptides are great for keeping nails, skin and hair healthy, for reducing joint pain, helping with leaky gut  and liver health as well as many additional benefits. When looking for collagen peptides, make sure it is sourced from grass-fed cows.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup nut butter of choice (or pumpkin or sunflower butter for a nut-free option)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup raw honey
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup collagen peptides
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • Extra shredded coconut for sprinkling on top

Directions

  1. Heat nut butter, coconut oil and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in honey, collagen powder, cocoa powder and shredded coconut until smooth, then fold in chia seeds.
  3. Place in a 6×9 inch Pyrex dish. If you’d like them to be thicker, make an extra recipe and add to the first batch or use a smaller dish.
  4. Place in fridge for 1 hour before removing from dish and cutting into 12 rectangles or any shape you prefer.
  5. Store bars in fridge tightly wrapped or in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze.