CHOCOLATE COLLAGEN BARS

Collagen Bars 1

We are most vulnerable to the lure of junk foods when the munchies strike and we just want a quick snack. These handy, healthful, and portable bars can help you resist the doughnuts in the break room or the pizza, pretzels, and cinnamon buns at the food court. I prefer to make my own bars because it is really easy and I can control what is in them. I use quality ingredients and my bars are not cooked so those ingredients stay fresh and the fats don’t oxidize. Better yet, my husband agrees that mine taste better than the bought ones!

CHOCOLATE COLLAGEN BARS
Ingredients:
¼ cup powdered collagen from grass-fed cows, such as Bulletproof or Great Lakes brands
2 tablespoons of sugar-free sweetener with bulk, such as erythritol, oligofructose, xylitol or a blend.
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
¼ cup coconut butter (not coconut oil)* or nut or seed butter** See Note below.
2 tablespoons coconut oil or pasture butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of MCT oil, optional***
Optional add Ins:  sugar-free chocolate chips, chopped nuts, sesame or chia seeds, flaked coconut, etc.

Directions:
Place container of coconut butter in warm water until softened. If using nut or seed butter instead, let it come to room temperature. Gently melt coconut oil or pasture butter.

Put collagen powder, sweetener, cocoa powder, and salt in a food processor or high-speed blender and pulse until well mixed. Let the dust settle before removing lid. (You can mix these by hand but they will not be as smooth.)

Add coconut or nut butter, coconut oil or pasture butter, optional MCT oil, and vanilla to processor bowl. Process until blended and smooth and no streaks remain. If using add-ins, pulse once or twice to distribute or stir in by hand after blending.

Scrape mixture into 4 molds for making bars or use mini-cake pans. (I used a silicone muffin pan with 1-x 3-inch rectangular cups.  The bars are easy to remove from silicone.) Chill until set and pop out of molds. Alternately, line a 3- x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper that overhangs the pan on two sides so the contents can be lifted out. Cut crossways into 4 bars after they set up.

Wrap bars in waxed paper and then overwrap in foil.

Makes 4 (2-ounce) bars.

Nutrition Data:
Calories: 145, Fat: 11.2 g: Pro: 9.2 g; Carbohydrate: 6.6 g; Fiber: 1.7 g; Net Carbohydrate: 4.9 g
The sweetener is not included in the counts as it will vary with choice. Most are indigestible fiber and will have zero carbs.

Collagen Bars 2

NOTES
*If you make the bars with coconut butter, they should be firm enough to keep at room temperature.  You may substitute nut butter (peanut, almond, or cashew), or seed butter (sunflower or pumpkin), but the bars may need to be refrigerated, depending on how thick your nut or seed butter is. If it is thin, you can drain off some of the oil that rises to the top before stirring it, which will make it thicker, but this won’t work for any that are labeled as “no stir.”

For this recipe, you need the kind of coconut butter that contains ground coconut, not just fat. It may be called “coconut manna.” Coconut oil is sometimes called “coconut butter” when it is solid (above 76 degrees) and coconut oil when it is liquid, below 76 degrees. The recipe calls for both kinds, but they are not interchangeable.

***The optional MCT oil is a healthful addition, but it may make your bars softer since it remains liquid even in the refrigerator. You can use more MCT if you like, but you may need to refrigerate your bars to keep them firm.

Benefits of Upgraded Collagen from Bulletproof :
Fast Tissue Repair – Upgraded Collagen provides the particular proteins that ensure cohesion, elasticity and regeneration of skin, cartilage and bone.

Greater Flexibility and Mobility – Upgraded Collagen makes the main building blocks of connective tissue more bio-available and better absorbed into joints for greater flexibility and mobility.

Strong Bone and Joint support – Upgraded Collagen supports strong, heavier, denser bones and contains two building blocks of cartilage that are essential for refueling after exercise and sports.

Revitalized Skin – Upgraded Collagen promotes skin hydration, reduces the number of fine lines, prevents deeper wrinkles, and maintains the suppleness of your skin from the inside-out.

Build Muscle – Upgraded Collagen supports muscle-building by facilitating the synthesis of creatine in the body.

Reduce Aging – Upgraded Collagen replaces the necessary proteins that diminish and breakdown from aging.

Deeper Sleep – Upgraded Collagen taken at bedtime deepens sleep, provides arginine to stimulate growth hormone release, and provides nutrients necessary to perform tissue repair while sleeping.

Brain Function – Upgraded Collagen provides glycine, a neurotransmitter involved in motor and sensory pathways as well as ATP synthesis.

Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate of the companies that make the products mentioned above and I have not received free products from them.

© 2016, Judy Barnes Baker

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Judy Barnes Baker

The working title for my first book was, “You’ll Never Know What You Are Missing.” It summed up my goal: to make eating for health synonymous with eating for pleasure. Once you discover the secret, you will find that the very best food for weight management, longevity, the treatment and prevention of disease, and over-all health and happiness is also the most sumptuous, satisfying, and indulgent way of eating the world has to offer. You are invited to the feast. Enjoy!
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Wenchypoo
Wenchypoo
8 years ago

Like the new digs…I saw the macros for this recipe first, then went back to see how much collagen is in it. Can the amount of collagen powder be cut in half (or more) to lower the protein, and would it disturb the integrity of the recipe? I’m asking because we have a rampant gluconeogenesis problem here.

Wenchypoo
Wenchypoo
Reply to  Judy Barnes Baker
8 years ago

Mine either, but this is what I got when entering the recipe (with coconut oil) into Sparkrecipes:

Total fat: 17.3
Protein: 7.0
Net carbs: 1.6

Wenchypoo
Wenchypoo
Reply to  Wenchypoo
8 years ago

Sorry–left out the “per serving” part.

Wenchypoo
Wenchypoo
Reply to  Judy Barnes Baker
8 years ago

It includes the listed dairy-free ingredients with coconut oil and MCT oil options (I have dairy allergies). I understand people can enter recipes on a variety of sites and get a variety of macros, so don’t sweat it. SparkRecipes will be different from MFP, and the NDB will be different from all of them.

Since I now know I can lower the dose of collagen powder, I’m going to do just that.

Wenchypoo
Wenchypoo
Reply to  Wenchypoo
8 years ago

Aha! I also subbed stevia glycerite (to taste) for the powdered sweetener listed in the recipe–that might be the difference. Stevia glycerite is the only sweetener that doesn’t raise my BG to immense proportions.

That may be the difference–stevia glycerite is non-caloric.

Linda @ The Fitty
8 years ago

Does gelatin instead of collagen work?

Jude Dettmann
Jude Dettmann
7 years ago

Hey Judy! Just a couple questions:

What pan did you make yours in? The only silicone mold I could find has 9 openings (it’s red…). I got 6 bars rather than 4.

Also I messed up on my butter. Instead of cocoNUT butter I used cocoa butter. And ideas on how this changes the nutrition of the bar? Or how bad a screw up it was?

Thanks!

Julie
Julie
5 years ago

Thank you so much for doing the work to make this great recipe!