Protein Pudding Bars

I am really on a healthy dessert kick!! I love dessert but don't always want to sacrifice 500+ calories on one little sweet treat.   

My newest creation is Protein Pudding Bars!

Only about 50 calories per bar.  Basically fat free, and so tasty :)

Let's get baking!

You need any type of cereal, but I like to use Fiber One.  You also need vanilla protein powder, your choice of milk, sugar free vanilla pudding mix, fat free cream cheese, and spray butter.  Sweetener is optional, but I used a little Splenda...big surprise right?!

You could get crazy and use any type of pudding mix and protein powder.  There are so many possible flavor combinations but I just kept this one simple.

First we will make the crust...Take your cereal and grind it up in a food processor or blender.  Get it as fine as possible.  Microwave the cream cheese for about 15 seconds to make it easier to mix.  Mix your cereal and cream cheese together.

Add some spray butter until it is all combined.  It should still be crumbly, but you should be able to mold it together.

This is where some sweetener is optional.  I added two Splenda packets.  You could also add some cinnamon for extra flavor!

You can use basically any size and shape pan.  I have made it in a pie pan, but this time we will make bars.  Press the crust into the bottom of your pan.  If you want a thicker crust, you can easily just use more cereal and cream cheese.

Stick this in the freezer for a few minutes while we get the pudding ready.

Now take the whole package of pudding mix, 1/2 scoop of protein powder, and 1 cup of milk and mix it up in a separate bowl.

Whisk it up until it's nice and smooth.  Use those muscles and get all those clumps out!

You could easily just eat this as is! We are going to make it more fun though...

Take out your crust and slowly pour the pudding mixture over top.

Get all that goodness out of the bowl!

Be sure to lick the spoon when you're done :)

My photographer caught me in the act!

Stick your bars in the fridge for about 2 hours until they are set.  Another super idea is to stick them in the freezer! Either way they are awesome!

I got 6 bars from this recipe.  Of course it will vary a bit depending on what size and shape pan you use.  The whole batch only has 320 calories!! It also has about 23 grams of protein!

Top with a little fat free cool whip and you got one tasty AND healthy dessert! At about 50 calories a bar, feel free to have two or three...or all six!!

That bite!!! Cool, creamy, sweet, and a nice little crunchy crust :)

Hope you enjoy them!

Protein Pudding Bars

• 1 package sugar free fat free vanilla pudding mix
• 1 scoop (30g) vanilla protein powder
• 3/4 cup (180ml) unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 (30g) cup Fiber One cereal 
• 2 T (33) fat free cream cheese
• spray butter
• sweetener optional

1. Put your cereal in a blender or food processor and puree until it's very fine.  Microwave cream cheese until soft and mix with cereal. Add spray butter until you can mold it. Add sweetener if desired.
2. Put crust in pan and stick in the freezer.
3. In separate bowl, whisk together pudding mix, milk, and protein powder.  
4. Pour pudding mixture over crust.  
5. Refrigerate for 2 hours and enjoy!!

53 calories per bar

320 calories for the whole batch

3g Fat

53g Carb

23g Protein

Pudding Oatmeal

I have been on a major oatmeal kick lately.  It's super healthy and a pretty quick meal.  BUT, a big old bowl of oatmeal is very boring.  Some people think of oatmeal as a yucky bowl of mush! Trust me, this oatmeal is anything but yucky! (Although it is still kinda mushy...) I have been playing around with different ways to jazz it up a bit.  My favorite so far is cheesecake oatmeal!

Old fashioned oats and sugar free fat free pudding mix is all you need!! I chose cheesecake this time! You can absolutely use any flavor of pudding here.  You can use vanilla, chocolate, white chocolate, banana cream (those are all the sugar free fat free flavors).  Of course you can also use regular pudding mix and have more options, but then you have a lot more sugar being added.

This is so quick and simple to make.  Just take 1/2 cup oats and about 2 T of the pudding mix.  You can also add some sweetener ( I add 3 splenda ) and a dash of salt.  Then add 2 cups of water.  The oatmeal container directions will say to only add 1 cup of water. We are going to let our oats sit for a while so they will absorb the extra water and expand.  This is going to give you an extra big bowl of yummy oatmeal!  Also, the pudding mix will need the extra water.  Feel free to substitute any type of milk instead of water. 

I recommend using a whisk to mix it up good because the pudding mix will clump together.  A spoon will work, just make sure you get all the clumps out.  You will also want to use a decent size bowl because your oatmeal will expand in the microwave.  Depending on the flavor of pudding you use, you could add some cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa powder, etc to the mix. Get creative! I kept it simple on this batch.

Microwave for 2 minutes.  Take it out and stir it up good.  Then microwave another 30-45 second.  Keep an eye on it!  At about 2 1/2 minutes it will start to boil and could spill over.  (I learned this the hard way) It is also nice to have a bigger bowl so you can go crazy with toppings!  

It already looks thicker.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes uncovered and then put it in the fridge.  I usually let mine sit overnight, but it really only needs a couple hours to let the pudding set.  When it is ready you can microwave it for a bit or just eat it cold.  I actually prefer it cold because of the pudding. Almost like a bread pudding texture.  Either way it is super yummy! 

This is the really fun part!! Toppings! You can get so creative here. I kept this one simple with just some sliced bananas and some sugar free syrup.

You can also do vanilla pudding mix with bananas, cinnamon, peanut butter, and whipped cream on top :)

Some other great topping could be strawberries, chocolate sauce, any nut butter, jam, dried fruit, apples, blueberries, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.  Play around with different puddings and toppings!

Pudding Oatmeal

• 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 T sugar free fat free pudding mix (any flavor)
• 2 cups water
• sweetener to taste
• dash of salt

Simply mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Microwave 2 minutes.  Stir.  Microwave another 30-45 seconds.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.  Enjoy warmed up or straight out of the fridge!   

What is your favorite oatmeal flavor??