Breakfast protein bars

I'm always going on to people to eat more protein at breakfast and it's true that when having some chicken stew for dinner or a tuna salad for lunch is quiet easy, breakfast can prove trickier. Of course, lots of people around the world wake up to savoury protein rich breakfasts but that not what we're used to do...

Eggs are a good idea, you could even throw some bacon and some spinach if you felt liked it. You could, couldn't you? And yet I don''t, why Mrs nutritional therapist don't you do it? Because I have a guilty secret, in the morning I'm quite lazy. I don't want to be preparing food, let alone doing too much washing up. And the last thing I want is to be clattering around the kitchen and wake up the kids - breakfast is pretty much the only time I have to myself when I'm not working or sleeping.

I like to eat my breakfast in peace and I like it to be quick to prepare, with minimal washing up AND it has to taste good. I will never eat something that tastes bad just because it's healthy, especially not in the morning!

So I came up with these bars, which are mainly made with protein powder and nuts/seeds. I prepare a batch of 6, stick it in the fridge that's me and my husband sorted for 3 mornings. They taste nice, they're filling, they're healthy, take no time to prepare and don't require washing up since it's all prepared beforehand.

For 6 bars you'll need:

• 6 scoops of protein powder. I use Solgar Whey to Go, chocolate flavour and each scoop is about 35g and brings 20g protein.
• 3 scoops of toasted pecan nuts (sometimes I use a mix of pecans, cashews and almonds)
• 3 scoops of mixed sunflower and pumpkin seeds (sometimes I toast them, sometimes not)
• 1.5 scoop unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1.5 scoop coconut flour
• 1/2 scoop of coconut oil
• 1 scoop of raisins
• 1 pinch of unrefined sea salt
• Sometimes I also throw a handful of cocoa nibs
• Water - I'm sorry I don't know how much, I just wing it a bit... I'll check next time and update the recipe.
• Non PVC cling film 
• A tin - mine is 23cm x 16cm

I use my Kitchen Aid mixer because it's there but you can do it by hand with some elbow grease.You basically need to mix everything together apart from the coconut oil which you first need to melt. Once melted add the oil and then a bit of water until it all clumps together - you don't want it too wet or it'll be very sticky; if it does become sticky add some coconut flour.

Line your tin with the cling film (very important or it'll be a nightmare to get out!!) and press the mixture in the tin. Put in the fridge until the next morning and cut into 6 pieces.

Ok, it looks tiny but it's very filling I promise. My husband is practically a black hole when it comes to food and he manages not to eat until lunch time after one of these.