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This Berry Collagen Protein Bar recipe is both Paleo and Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) compliant. These protein bars are creamy, full of flavor, and are truly a healthy addition to your weekly breakfastroutine. Grab the recipe below.
I'm sure every health coachclaims that every recipe they ever create is “insane”, right?
Even if this is true, you have to believe me when I tell you this Berry Collagen Protein Bar recipe is INSANE. I truly mean that these healthy as f***, low sugar, high protein bars taste as good asa seriously irresistible dessert.
Unlike most of my recipes, these bars didn't just ‘happen'. This recipe was one that I had toresearch, test, retest, and retest again before finally stumbling upon the perfect combination of ingredients.
If you read my post on theseMashed Cauliflower Breakfast Bowls, you know that I've been pretty lazy with my breakfasts. So naturally I began searching for the best way to indulge my lazy breakfast mentality: protein bars. It's pretty much impossible to find a store bought protein bar that is dairy, nut, and grain free, so I went to Pinterest to find a homemade recipe.
Even going the homemade route, I quickly realized how few recipes were A. dairy free, B. nut free, and C. oat free. It seemed every recipe I saw included one or more of those three ingredients. And so the drive was born to create something of my own that was free of all three.
In this recipe, the combination of collagen protein, coconut butter, coconut cream, and berries makes the most insanely delicious protein bar. These protein bars areso delicious, I swear theycould pass as dessert.
The Protein Component: Collagen
Although I was once an avid plant-based protein kinda girl, the protein powder I swear bythese days is a form of protein called collagen hydrolysate, aka collagen peptides.
Collagen is one of the most structural substances in your body, responsible for healthy tissue repair, joint flexibility, bone and skin renewal, and reducing inflammation. If one of your goals is to stay looking young sans botox, collagen is your golden ticket.
The Creamy Component: Coconut
Confession:I'm not a fan of coconut butter. It's dry, crumbly, and not easy to snack on since it solidifies at room temp. It is however key to the success of this recipe, and once all theingredients come together, the coconut butter is a non-issue for me. These bars are anything butdry or crumbly, and they're a perfect snack.
Coconut butter on it's own has plenty of merit as well. It's said that the fat from coconut buttercan’t be stored as bodyfat since it's so readily available for energy. This means that despite these bars being higher in fat, you don't need to worry about your waist line when eating them. In fact, you can expect any of the followingbenefits from indulging in these coconut butter based bars:
- High in healthy medium chain triglycerides
- High in fiber
- Improved blood sugar control
- Reduced sugar cravings
Pretty insane, right? Let's move on.
The Fruity Component: Berries
I've made these bars with two berry options: fresh blueberries, and dried mixed berries. The first option has a shorter shelf life, but the end result is delicious. I love the combination of the fresh, juicy blueberries mixed into the creamy coconut butter. This option is also lower in sugarthan what is shown on the nutrition label (which is calculated with dried berries). The secondoption, dried mixed berries, yields more of the chewy texture that you'd expect from a protein bar. I can't say I prefer one over the other, but will likely choose to use dried berries for when I'm prepping a bunch of bars for weekday breakfasts.
The Dessert Component: Chocolate Icing
Full disclosure, I didn't photograph these bars with the coconut oil chocolate icing recipelisted below. I decided to use 80% dark chocolate for when I was snappingphotos solely so I wouldn't worry about them melting during the process.However, after tasting the recipe with the substitution of darkchocolate in place ofmy coconut oil chocolate icing, I realized that this collagen protein bar recipe had an alter-ego… and it's that of a true dessert.
Regardless of the chocolate option you choose (dark chocolate or coconut oil ‘chocolate icing'), you won't be disappointed.
Berry Collagen Protein Bars
4.54 from 15 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Servings 8 bars
Calories 210 kcal
Ingredients
Bars:
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 3/4 cup Perfect Supplements Collagen Peptides
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- 1/4 cup dried or fresh berries
- 1/2 cup coconut butter
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract swap with vanilla powder for AIP
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Chocolate Icing (optional):
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp cacao powder or carob powder for AIP
- 1/2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
Instructions
For the Bars
Mix all ingredients together by hand in a bowl. It may take a bit of stirring before the dough comes together.
Form into 8 equal bars. I used this inexpensive silicon mold to make my bars all the same size, but you can also use a greased glass baking sheet, or you canshape the bars by hand.
Place the formed bars in refrigerator for 30 minutes to set. Once they're set, remove the bars from the silicon mold or the baking dish. At this point, you can choose if you'd like to make the chocolate icing, (recipe below )or leave plain.
The bars tend to have the best texture at room temperature, but you can also store in the fridge for a longer shelf-life.
For theChocolate Icing
Melt the coconut oil and stir in cacao powder (or carob powder for AIP) and maple syrup.
Dip bottom half of each bar in the chocolate icing.
Use a piping bag or a ziploc with a small hole cut in the tip to drizzle chocolate on top of the bars.
Place bars on waxed paper in the refrigerator to set.
Nutrition information is for the bars without the chocolate icing. If you're including the icing, you'll add 85 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 2 grams of carbs.
Notes
These bars are also delicious dipped in 80% dark chocolate and eaten as a low sugar dessert.
Nutrition
Calories: 210kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 11gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 11gSodium: 196mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
