Pump Up Protein The All-Natural Way

Hanna Valley Protein’s no-bake bars are made with plenty of healthy and organic ingredients. Find the full recipe below.

Writer: Karla Walsh

Once per day, every day, I whip up a smoothie bowl. I find that this is one of the easiest and simplest ways to guarantee I get at least two cups of fruit and a good dose of protein each day. And one of the powders I use is  Emily Hanna’s Hanna Valley Protein, which I tried this spring.


The ingredients are healthy, organic and affordable. And Hanna knows the power of clean eating: After being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus in 2016, she found that nearly all of her symptoms disappeared after adjusting her diet to be packed with whole foods.

At the time, her husband was using protein powder daily—and as Hanna began examining the labels of all of the staples in their home kitchen, she was surprised by the lengthy protein powder ingredient list. So she grabbed a spice grinder, some nuts, seeds and spices, and blitzed up her own signature blend for the family to use at home in smoothies, pancakes and beyond. Her neighbors caught wind of the creation and the super-powered powder snowballed from there.

You can now find her chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and pumpkin (a fall exclusive) protein powders at several retailers across Iowa, including Campbell’s Nutrition, Fresh Thyme Market, Dogpatch Urban Gardens, Nosh, Des Moines Mercantile, Iowa Food Coop and Capital City Fruit.


“When I’m in a hurry, I toss it in with almond milk and frozen banana,” Hanna says. “Otherwise, most of my smoothies have almond butter, vanilla cashew yogurt, spinach and berries as well.”

If you’re less of a smoothie fan and more of a sweets person, here’s Hanna’s recipe for her no-bake bars.

No-Bake Cinnamon Snack Bars

Ingredients

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ½ cup honey or maple syrup
  • ½ cup nut butter
  • 1 scoop Cinnamon Hanna Valley Protein
  • 3 cups any flavor O-shaped cereal

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine oil, honey and nut butter. Heat over medium-low until melted, stirring to combine.
  2. Remove the pan from the stove, then add in protein powder. Mix to fully incorporate.
  3. Fold in the cereal and gently stir to evenly coat the cereal with the nut butter mixture.
  4. In a 9- x 9-inch baking pan lined with parchment paper, transfer the cereal mixture and press down to create bars. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then slice into bars and enjoy.

To learn more and order online, visit hannavalley.com. Score more recipes and discover new retail partners as they’re added by following @hannavalleyprotein on Instagram.

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