Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Lightly sweetened and protein packed, these no bake oatmeal energy bars have natural peanut butter, and cinnamon apple chips to give you just the energizing snack you need whether at home or on the go.

This post was sponsored by Toyota. All opinions are my own

Road Trippin’

Recently we took a family vacation to Universal Studios in Orlando FL. I’m all about summer fun, and there are many highlights of our summer in my opinion. But, if you ask my kids, this was the highlight of their summer!

We explored Orlando in the luxury of the  2017 Toyota Sienna SE. This sports sedan meets family van has all the latest in comfort and technology. When we upgraded from our old van, there were 2 things that were main priority:

• All wheel drive
• Drink holders

Of course, there was more on the list, but did you know the Toyota Sienna is the only minivan with all wheel drive available? Now, we didn’t really need that in FL, but we do it need it in MI. 🙂

I love my coffee, and I drink loads of water everyday, then there’s special road trip drinks. My husband is the same. The Sienna can handle our drinking habits. 😀 There’s 2 in the console, 2 in the dash, 2 just behind the console (really for the back seat, but I hog them), there’s 2 in the console in the back seat, they’re in the doors, they’re everywhere! It’s the little things people!

No Bake Oatmeal Energy Bars

More details on the trip to come, but today I’m sharing my secrets to snacking success with these easy peasy no bake oatmeal energy bars. If ya know me at all, ya know I’m about healthy snacking. In my house, snacks = healthy; treats = sugar. So we don’t eat cookies or cupcakes as a snack–those are treats.

But, kids crave sugar. Who am I kidding, so do I! So the secret to these yummy peanut butter bars are to make them taste like a treat while keeping it healthy without refined sugar. These no bake oatmeal energy bars will keep the whole family satisfied for miles. The Toyota Sienna SE has tons of storage space to keep these snacks handy too. Not to mention ALL THE LUGGAGE!

5 minutes to snacking

Only 5 minutes to make these peanut butter protein bars, plus chill time. You actually can eat them right away, but they’ll be a better consistency if you wait a bit.

There’s only 5 ingredients as well (if you don’t count the salt). I recommend all natural peanut butter, which tends to be runnier which is why the chill time is important. You can also roll these into energy bites if yo prefer. I’ve done it both ways.

All in all, No Bake Oatmeal Energy Bars are easy to make, taste delicious and are perfect for at home or on the go. Take them on your next road trip or pack them in the kids lunch boxes for back to school. Or your own for that matter! Ready to make these??

Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Lightly sweetened and protein packed, these no bake oatmeal energy bars have natural peanut butter, and cinnamon apple chips to give you just the energizing snack you need whether at home or on the go.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 9 bars

Author: Chellie Schmitz

Ingredients

• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup 100% whey protein powder
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup apple chips, chopped plus more for topping

Instructions

• Place parchment paper in the bottom of an 8x8 pan, leave an over hang for easy removal.
• Combine peanut butter, honey, salt and protein powder in a medium size bowl.
• Add oats and apple chips, stir well.
• Press the mixture into prepared pan. Top with more apple chips if desired. Chill for 30 minutes or until set. Lift out of the pan, and cut into squares. 

Notes

You can purchase apple chips or cinnamon apple chips at your local grocery store. It's simply dehydrated apples. You can also make them yourself in a dehydrator or low temperature in the oven, but that will take you more time. 

Natural peanut butter should just have 'peanuts' listed as an ingredient. If it contains sugar or salt, you may want to adjust the honey and salt.

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More healthy snacks…

DIY Yogurt pouches

Power Bars