Caramel Pumpkin Bars

Recently I have been experimenting with chickpeas in the kitchen.  Not so much in savory dishes, but in baking sweets! That's right, chickpea cookies and chickpea blondies.  You wouldn't think a bean would taste good in a sweet treat, but it is quite amazing! They have a really nice and smooth texture when pureed.  And when you add things like pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, peanut butter, you can't even tell there are chickpeas hiding in there! 

My husband, who is NOT the health freak like myself, even said they tasted good!!  I think he was quite surprised himself.

Enough rambeling...Let's get baking some Caramel Pumpkin Bars.  

WHEN you make these, see if someone can guess the secret healthy ingredient...I bet they won't be able to tell there is a 1/2 cup of chickpeas in there!!!

 And you will need...canned pumpkin, chickpeas (or garbanzo), egg beaters, MTS Caramel Sutra whey, cinnamon, baking powder, vanilla, and sweetener of choice.

You can absolutely use vanilla protein powder for this recipe! The MTS Caramel Sutra really is amazing though...you can order it here if you wish! Use code KH30 to save 30%

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!! 

First, drain and rinse the canned beans. You will find out that after getting rid of all the liquid, there is only a little over 2 servings of beans in the can.

Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and mix til smooth!! You may or may not need a tiny bit of water or milk to get it all blended.  I added about 1tsp of water to help it along.  

Once again...looks like baby food...at this point my husband walks in and says "Ew.." The same husband that later said they were suprisingly tasty!!

I used a small 5x7 glass baking dish.  You could use a round one, or easily double the recipe to fit a bigger dish.  I have also made these as cookies! They are best as bars in my opinion. Lightly coat with some non-stick spray and pour the batter in.  At this point you could get creative! I have added mini chocolate chips which turned out awesome! You could add any type of nut and I bet raisins would be tasty too!

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.  

And Voila!  Makes 6 nice sized bars.  The pumpkin in these makes them the perfect texture. They are amazing topped with a little cream cheese or peanut butter! Or just eat them plain.  Delicious AND healthy either way.  

Can you see that super creamy texture!? Oh gosh! Like most things I make these freeze great.  Although, at only about 45 calories a piece...they probably won't even make it to the freezer.  Who am I kidding...the whole batch is only 270 calories so I just eat them all! With more protein than most store bought protein bars, these are a great breakfast or snack!

Caramel Pumpkin Bars

• 1/2 cup chickpeas/garbanzo drained and rinsed (130g)
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (60g)
• 3 T egg beaters (46g)
• 1 scoop MTS Caramel Sutra whey (30g)
• 1/4 t baking powder
• 1 T cinnamon
• sweetener to taste (4-5 packets)

1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  May need to add a dash of water or milk to get it all mixed.  
2. Lightly coat dish with non stick spray and pour in batter. I used a 5x7 glass dish.
3. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. 

Makes 6 bars - 45 calories each

270 calories for WHOLE batch

2g Fat

27g Carb

33g Protein