"Easy Peasy" Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Have you ever wanted to eat a Reese's cup for breakfast but didn't: a) because you didn't have any, and b) because it wasn't the greatest life choice? Well, these chocolate peanut butter protein bars admittedly are not the BEST thing for breakfast - but hey, they are WAY better for you than eating Reese's cups for breakfast and they taste pretty darn close! 

I decided to make these because PROTEIN takes the biggest chunk out of our grocery budget. And while I can't manufacture meat - I was pretty confident that I could make some DIY protein bars! My husband and I wake up at 4:00 am every morning and he has to be at work by 5:00 so we have been buying protein bars to make getting out the door easier/faster. We buy our protein bars at Aldi which are the cheapest we have found for the kind that we like: $3.99 for a box of 6 bars. We buy 2 boxes per week, so that is eight dollars per week - which is almost a third of what we spend on groceries, so I knew it was time to make a change. Unfortunately, I had tried to make my own protein bars in the past but I gave up because they all ended up too goey or tasted "meh." but these taste amazing and are similar in nutrition and consistency to the ones we were already buying at the store. Not to mention they only cost 3.59 to make the whole batch - which comes to only thirty cents per bar!

Now, before you get too excited - these are pretty much just glorified "Rice Krispy" treats with peanut butter and protein powder added. I was inspired the other night when I was making the gooey marshmallow+cereal treats and thinking about how similar they were to protein bars that were made out of rice protein "crisps" (which is the main ingredient of the ones that we usually buy). So I thought, "Why not make "Crispy Rice" protein bars? I am VERY excited about these because they do not fall apart, taste great, and are soy free! They are also SUPER easy to make. Easy peasy - to be exact - and you only need six ingredients to make them!

Here's what you will need:

5 cups Crispy Rice cereal

1 cup Vanilla protein powder (we use whey protein - but any protein powder will do)

3 cups peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

2 Tablespoons butter

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Step 1: Melt butter in saucepan over LOW heat (you do not want this to burn - keep it on low the whole time)

Step 2: Add 1/4 cup honey

Step 3: Add 3 cups peanut butter and stir until smooth

Step 4: combine 5 cups cereal and 1 cup protein powder

Step 5: when peanut butter mixture is melted completely - stir until smooth and remove from heat

Step 6: Quickly stir peanut butter into cereal/protein powder mixture until fully incorporated

Step 7: Press mixture into a greased 8"x 8" pan

Step 8: allow to cool and cut into 12 "bars"

Step 9: heat 1 cup chocolate chips in microwave in 25 second intervals until completely melted

Step 10: spread a thin layer of melted chocolate onto each bar

Viola! Easy-peasy peanut butter protein bars that taste like a Reese's cup!

Do you have any DIY protein bar recipes? What do you normally eat for breakfast on the go? Please share in the comments below!