The Healthiest Homemade Protein Bar Ever!

by Mark McManus on October 20, 2009

low glycemic load protein bar I’ve created a low-glycemic load protein bar without compromising on taste. Here’s the nutritional breakdown before we get into the instructions:

Glycemic Load = 5
308 Calories
37g carbs
32g protein
3.5 fat

I’ve already created 2 types of homemade protein bars for you guys to enjoy:

However, now that I’m a GLADiator (thanks Andrew), I wanted to create one that would fulfill the GLAD criteria:

It should be rich in high-quality protein
All carbs should be low-glycemic and total GL for the bar should be low
There should be some essential fatty acids in there

This bar fits the bill and tastes better than any other I’ve tried.

Check out the video I made showing how to make it…

Here’s the ingredients:

Whey Protein Isolate (chocolate flavor works best I think)
Rolled oats
Ground Flax Seed
Blue Agave Nectar
Water

The total Glycemic Load for this bar is just 5. blue agave nectar

Blue Agave Nectar is your choice of syrup here owing to it’s low glycemic load i.e. GL 2 for a 20g/1 tablespoon serving.

Making it is simple:

Mix all your dry ingredients thoroughly in a bowl i.e. protein, oats, and flax seed
Now add your nectar, but don’t mix in yet
Add a tablespoon of water
Now mix it all together. Get your hands in there and really mix it well
Spoon it out of the bowl and shape it into a bar. Let it set for a while in the fridge or chew it down straight away (it will be very gooey if you don’t let it set).

If you want to go completely natural make sure you use a protein powder without any artificial sweeteners.

Take Care,

Mark.

{ 24 comments }

1 John October 20, 2009 at 10:15 pm: Very Nice. I especially like the new style of video Mark and good choice of music.
2 Mike October 21, 2009 at 12:38 am: Nice recipe! It is kind of hard to get enough calories during school hours, so this will make a very good snack between classes/on the bus. Thanks.
3 Shay October 21, 2009 at 2:33 am: This is an excellent protein bar recipe.
So yummy and easy to make, also cost less then buying them.
The video was very nice too, for those of us who are “cooking” impaired.

Thanks!
4 Marochka_Raduga October 21, 2009 at 1:58 pm: I’ve not tried this recipe yet, but it sure looks great! If I pair this with some baby carrots and celery sticks, I should have a breakfast that’s just about perfect! Thanks, Mark!
5 noodkia October 21, 2009 at 4:29 pm: i just bought gold standard whey(ON) from my local store, the salesman said i should take 1 scoop morning in non-workout days, for workout days take 1 scoop before and after workout!! that is a lot of money… should i take it that way?
6 Mark McManus October 21, 2009 at 8:27 pm: @John @Mike @Shay @Marochka_Raduga Thanks!
@noodkia. No you don’t. I take 1 protein shake after a workout and that’s it. On non-workout days, I simply get my protein from food.
Eat a meal before working out but leave it about an hour to digest a bit before hitting the iron. Hope that helps.
7 Gareth Fitzpatrick October 21, 2009 at 8:42 pm: Hi, just thought id leave this on here as im abit confused about what diet you think is best for cutting and also bulking?. Is low carb best for cutting but keeping as much muscle as u can (mans) and the low GI diet best for adding the most muscle without getting fat?.
8 Mark McManus October 21, 2009 at 8:58 pm: Gareth,
Both GLAD and MANS are bulking diets, the goal being to pack on the muscle without adding fat. However, many have reported back to me with simultaneous muscle gain AND fat loss (see ‘testimonials’ section http://www.musclehack.com/testimonials/ ).
‘Total Six Pack Abs’, on the other hand, is the full cutting strategy to strip fat while preserving lean muscle. Again, many have reported back with simultaneous muscle gain WHILE they lost fat (see the testimonials on that page http://www.totalsixpackabs.com/ ).
All the best,
Mark.
9 Mike October 22, 2009 at 2:01 am: This is off topic, but I am afraid you won’t see this if I post it in the correct place. So, I noticed that even when you were skinny (first successful cut ever pics) you had a big chest and you said that the chest is one of the easiest body parts to develop in your chest articles. In the flat bench press and incline bench press articles you used a barbell, but I only have dumbbells. I am currently doing 4 sets flat bench press with 30 pound dumbells (1st set about 35 pounds and 8-9 reps), 2 sets incline press with 25 pound dumbbells, flat chest flies with 20 pound dumbbells. My chest is one of only a couple muscles that is growing slowly, and strength gains are slow. I am 16 years old and I weigh about 140 pounds at 9-10% body fat (I can see my abs fairly clearly), and my chest is only about half as big as yours was. By the way, I am using good form and my tempo is the same you recommend. What do you think I should do? Thanks, sorry for long post!
10 Michael Hwang October 22, 2009 at 4:52 am: Sweeeet! I’ve been eating those promax bars, dunno what you think about them, but after a while I got really tired of the sugar. This seems like a really good long term bar.

Thanks Mark!
11 CR October 22, 2009 at 6:45 am: Good start, but Agave syrup is really high in fructose. Fructose is really, really bad. Just because it has a “low glycemic load” doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

Agave syrup is higher in fructose than high-fructose corn syrup, which is generally around 50-55% fructose. Agave is 70-90% fructose.

Seriously, agave syrup is not a healthy food in any sense of the word. Avoid it.
12 Mark McManus October 22, 2009 at 10:41 am: @Mike. Yes my chest was still fairly developed in my ‘skinny’ pics but remember that I had still been working out for a few years at that point. I was doing lots of things incorrectly but over time I was still making small progressions.
You may want to through a set or 2 of dumbbell flies to isolate the pecs, or use a pec deck if available. Overall, if you’re progressing just keep going, you’re moving in the right direction.
13 confused guy October 23, 2009 at 9:15 am: hey, mark, buddy!
i have same question with noodkia… i read a book that says u should take 3 protein shakes, 1 immediatly after your workout, 1 about 30 monitues later, 1 about 45 minutes later…should i follow it????

btw can you reupload the lateral raise shoulder exercise;\
14 Mark McManus October 23, 2009 at 10:18 am: @confused. No you certainly don’t need 3 protein shakes a day. Get most of your protein from food and meet your daily requirements. Extra protein won’t build extra muscle, it will be converted to glucose and used for energy, or stored as glycogen (if there is a need) or fat. That book sounds like it was written by, or sponsored by, a supplement company.
I’ll be shooting more vids soon.
Mark
15 walauA October 23, 2009 at 11:33 am: i am taking whey protein of 24g a scoop does that mean that i have to use 2 scoop for a post workout drink?
16 Mark McManus October 23, 2009 at 1:34 pm: @walauA. 1.5 – 2 scoops is good.
17 walauA October 24, 2009 at 10:33 am: thx man!!
18 Alex Kay October 24, 2009 at 1:21 pm: Thanks for the recipe Mark, I’ll try this the next time I have some chocolate protein powder at hand…
19 Budgie October 25, 2009 at 10:25 pm: this one looks great i used to eat the mans one a lot but i was wonderting where do oyu get your ground flax and syrup ?
20 Bas October 27, 2009 at 6:33 pm: Hey Marc. Can you think of sth. to replace the Agave Nectar while having a comparable effect (I thought of honey, also for the taste but is this actually a good idea??)
Can’t get this Agave stuff around here:/
Would be great to get some suggestions how to modify this protein bar.

Keep going with this blog!
Very inspiring and motivating!!!
21 Mark McManus October 27, 2009 at 8:39 pm: @Budgie. I don’t know where you live but I get the flax seed in a shop called SuperValu (Irish franchise) and Tesco do the agave nectar.
@Bas. Honey has a GL of 16 for a tablespoon compared to GL2 for the nectar. To be honest I can’t think of a natural alternative. If you’re in the US, Walden Farms make zero calorie syrups sweetened with splenda.
22 Charles October 27, 2009 at 11:43 pm: @Mark: It’s nto the Glycemic Index that’s the issue. Fructose has a lower GI than other sweeteners because it doesn’t cause an insulin release. But fructose is a very damaging sugar–much more so than glucose. It increases triglycerides, increases uric acid (causing hypertension), screws up the liver, etc. The huge rise in fructose consumption over the past coulple of decades is probably the root cause of our obesity problems. Here is a pretty good discussion about the varous sweeteners:

http://tinyurl.com/yf9jg26

Honey is about 50/50 glucose/fructose. Agave nectar can be as high as 90+% fructose. Avoid it. The glycemic index is irrelvant.
23 Bas October 28, 2009 at 9:56 am: Alright, then I guees I’ll have to keep searching since I do not live in the US but in Europe.
Thx anyway!
24 TomGreenwald December 4, 2009 at 4:58 pm: Good recipe.
I haven’t tried to make a protein bar, but I do make healthy home-made breakfast musli. It consists of different nuts, dried fruit, oat-flakes and everything is fried in honey. Healthy and tasty. You should give it a try.