A miracle of good taste

You have to be dedicated to eat hemp protein. Or be very inventive. Hemp protein tastes like grass, and there is not much you can do to disguise it.

Foodsnark has tried it sprinkled on oatmeal, mixed into nut butters and spread on sandwiches, and blended into pasta sauces, etc., etc. Bleh.

Cue Sarah Britton. Originally from Canada, Britton works as a holistic nutritionist and vegetarian chef in Copenhagen, Denmark.

She is also a widely followed a blogista at My New Roots (http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/).

Her recipes elicit comments that gush love (and apparently, marriage proposals). Which is ridiculous. She DESERVES TO BE SAINTED just for her hemp protein granola bars.

Here is the Foodsnark version:

Hemp Protein Oat Bars [after Sarah Britton]

Ingredients:

375 mL (1 1/2) cups rolled oats
~190 mL (3/4 cup) walnuts, chopped
250 mL (1 cup) dates, chopped
250 mL (1 cup) shredded coconut
125 mL (1/2 cup) hemp protein powder
~60 mL (1/4 cup) sesame seeds
30 mL (2 Tbsp) poppy seeds
10 mL (2 tsp) cinnamon
~2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) salt
3 bananas, very ripe
~60 mL (1/4 cup) oil (canola used, but walnut preferred)
10 mL (2 tsp) vanilla extract
45 mL (3 Tbsp) maple syrup
30 mL (2 Tbsp) chia seeds
90 mL (6 Tbsp) water

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
2. In a small bowl, mix the chia seeds and water together. Set aside to gel.
3. In a large bowl (3-Litre/12-Cup, or larger) combine the dry ingredients.
4. In a blender or processor, combine bananas, oil, vanilla, and maple syrup. Or mash these ingredients together finely in a bowl. Add chia gel, and mix or blend well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until well-combined.
5. Spread the mixture evenly into a baking pan (25×25-cm, or 9×11-inch). Foodsnark used a cast iron fry pan, 25-cm round. Smooth out the top of the mix. Bake until edges brown and begin to crisp. Foodsnark wanted a light crust in order to preserve some moisture in the bar. Let cool, cut into bars or squares, and refrigerate (or freeze, and thaw individual bars as needed).

The bars are delicious, and protein-rich. Foodsnark willingly, eagerly, eats them as snacks. The bars can be chopped and added to morning oatmeal for flavour and extra nutrition.

Tags: hemp protein powder