DIY protein bars? vegetarian, no-cook protein?

I've listed the recipe for Logan Bread here. Search for "logan bread" and I think you will see my initials pop up quickly. I've been making the stuff for over thirty years now, and it does not have a spoilage problem.

–B.G.–

From my Bookmarks, thanks Bob.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=29797&skip_to_post=250686#250686

Hi, Bob and Joe — Thanks for the recipe. It doesn't look particularly high in protein, though.

-Ben

Hello, I’m also interested in eating raw and such while on the trail. I came across this site, WaiTalk, that has an interested discussion of protein requirements, and that most of it can be met by consuming fruit, brazil nuts, and optionally a small amount of animal food. While on the trail, a handful-and-a-half of brazil nuts per day could probably replace the animal food, assuming you are eating a variety of foods.

Another site that might be useful is youbars.com. The ingredients in these bars are only what you choose, so you might be able to reverse engineer the bars to make something similar. They also have a nutrition calculator.

You mention beans – you know that precooked and dehydrated lentils rehydrate with cool water? They are quite good with a little "dressing" and some other veggies – such as tomatoes and shallots (all dried as well).

You can also get tofu in shelf stable packs in many stores.

As for bars….those protein bars sold are gut rotters – they sit in your stomach for a long time. YMMV of course!

Sarah wrote: "you know that precooked and dehydrated lentils rehydrate with cool water?"
Aha! No, I didn't know that! Thanks!

I found this online: http://www.packitgourmet.com/Lentils-p193.html

Unfortunately it's too late for me to order by mail for this trip. Next year I will definitely start using them. They're about the same as cheese in terms of protein per unit weight, without ramping up the calories from fat as much as cheese does. They also have better energy density than jerky.

"You can also get tofu in shelf stable packs in many stores."
Interesting — is it practical as a backpacking food, or is there too much water in it?

On the lentils….you can also drain canned ones and dry them – works well.
I have a bunch of recipes on the website for using them :-) Including one with couscous for more protein and carbs.

On the tofu – it is aseptically packed so is a perfect cube. No draining needed – it is a silken style tofu. It isn't light but it is compact! And tasty as well…….
http://www.morinu.com/product/tofu.html

"On the lentils….you can also drain canned ones and dry them – works well."
Does this require buying a dehydrator?

Heck no! Just put them on a cookie tray and dry them in your oven on the lowest setting. Check every hour and stir once they start getting dryer. Easy!

All canned beans can be dried as well!

@Sarah: Cool! It's really that easy!? Who knew? :-)

I'll definitely give it a shot.

I have a "basic" section also on drying :-)

http://www.trailcooking.com/dehydrating101

-And yep, anything you want to dry in a dehydrator you can do in your oven. If yours has a convection setting more so the bonus – the fan helps move the air faster. If the food is very wet you can line the trays with parchment paper and prop the door open with a wooden spoon to help the moisture dry out.

I'm looking at a similar problem for my next trip and I think I'm going to make my own energy bars supplemented with whey-protein. There are loads of recipes around the nets, you can choose what to include, they are easy and they keep.

I'll post back here after I try a couple of recipes this evening. And I think I'll probably give a batch of that logan bread a shot as well.

Edit: Here'S a good basic list with calorie/protein/carb info http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=346329

@ Hamilton. Feedback on how this goes would be great thanks.

Here's what I make–not sure if fits your needs or not:

INREDIENTS:
Raw Almonds
Protein Powder
Honey (substitute maple syrup if honey's too sweet for you!)
Almond butter
Vanilla

Chop whole, raw almonds in blender until is almost like powder.

Heat honey, almond butter, and shot of vanilla over low heat until smooth (experiment with amounts)

Mix powdered almond and protein powder with honey/butter/vanilla until you get a stiff, relatively dry mass thant cannot be stirred–so thick is has to be mixed by hand.
Cover cookie sheets or cassorle pans with plastic wrap and flatten the mix into/onto sheets about 1/2 inch thick. Put in fridge to harden, then cut into bars.

I generally store these in the fridge long term, but they travel well without refigeration for days at a time. Yummy, hi-energy, and way cheaper than store-bought bars.

Sometimes I skip the protein powder, but you asked about high-protein!

What is the quantity of each ingredient in your homemade protein bar listed?

I couldn't tell you exact or even ballpark quatities–sorry, I'm not very scientific in the kitchen. I simply mixed the powders with liquids until I had a barely kneadable dough, then spread it in the pan. I suppose roughly I would say that almond powder to protein powder was about 4:1 and honey to almond butter was probably 3:1. Sometimes I leave out the protein powder altogether, and you could probably make this without the almond butter, too, just using honey with a splash of vanilla as the glue…

I have been reading some info on the Hammer Nutrition website recently and they recommend soy protein for pre and during exercise use and whey for post exercise use.

My young sister has successfully replicated the Hammer Nutrition bars, which are delicious. No cook, soy based, vegetarian, and delicious. It took her several attempts but she has the consistency, ingredients and proportions down to a T, they're almost indecipherable from the real thing. I'll have to get the recipe on paper unless it's ingrained in her memory, I'm sure I can extract the idea from her dreams…sorry, I still can't shake that movie Inception.

I find that soy protein sits better in my gut pre-run, during, and post run.