I was messing around with the Granola Bar recipe from the Gourmet Nutrition cookbook this week, hoping to come up with something that would use the ingredients I had on hand and serve as a substitute for the tasty but not so healthy Nature Valley Sweet and Salty chewy granola bars my husband likes, and came up with this rather satisfying modified recipe that is just ducky for your post-workout snack if you are tired of chugging down a shake and want something a bit more like two delicious, thick chocolate chip cookies as a reward for your hard work instead.

Give it a try if you have a Ghetto-Mart (Wal-Mart if you live in a nicer ‘burb) nearby for the trail mix, or use your own nut and seed-based trail mix).

They are super quick to make, and even though my DH is picky about protein stuff, too, he loves these. Besides, I love seeing the expressions on the faces of the 100-rep, two-pound dumbbell flappers and squishy cardio bunnies at the gym when I finish up a brutally heavy training session…and then pop two cookies into my mouth!

Muahahahahahaha!

(Yes, I really am that much of a wench.)

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Granola Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies (PWO)
Yields: 24 cookies for 12 servings; 1 serving = 2 cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats, dry, uncooked (Old fashioned, not quick oats)
3/4 cup Sam’s Choice Nature Trail Mix (or other trail mix containing soybeans, sunflower seeds, almonds, and pepitas or similar)
1/4 cup Raisins, seedless, poured, not packed
1/4 cup Chips, chocolate, semisweet, large
4 scoops vanilla protein powder (gemma pea protein works best, but whey or soy work, too)
2 tbsps Honey
1/2 tsp Salt, table, 1/5 oz per teaspoon
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Syrup, Maple sugar-free

Directions:
In a large bowl combine the oats, trail mix, raisins, chocolate chips, and protein powder. Add the
honey, syrup, vanilla, and salt. Stir until everything is thoroughly mixed. At first, it will
seem too dry, but continue stirring and it will eventually blend. (If using soy or gemma protein powder, you might need to add up to an extra 1/2 cup of water.)

Spray two non-stick 12-compartment muffin tins with cooking spray, then press the
mixture into the bottom of each cup firmly. Alternately, spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, then drop 24 equal blobs of the mixture onto the sheet, squashing each down slightly into a cookie-like thickness.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 6 minutes.

(You may also spread mixture in an 8×8″ cake pan to make bars, but baking time may increase to 10 minutes due to the increased thickness of the mix.)

Nutrition (per 2 cookies):
Calories 164
Fat g 4.9
Saturated g 1.09
Polyunsat. g 1.37
Monounsat. g 1.71
Trans Fat g 0
Cholesterol mg 0.667
Sodium mg 152
Potassium mg 124
Carbohydrate g 21.8
Dietary Fiber g 2.93
Sugars g 8.65 29
Protein g 11.6