I've been trying to find a way to indulge in protein bars regularly without burning a hole in my wallet, most of them are either unsustainable on a budget or are filled with sweeteners, preservatives, etc.
That's what led me down this rabbit hole.
I tried some recipes and was able to crack a few, to suit my taste and macros.
Then, recently I picked up a few Whole Truth bars because I like their taste, and that's when I noticed something interesting, they list the exact percentages for every ingredient.
So I decided to reverse engineer them.
Converted the percentages into grams for a 67g bar (20g protein), tested a few batches at home, tweaked the texture and it worked. The formula is surprisingly simple and clean *(Shoutout to The Whole Truth and* *sorry for using your recipe).*
After a few iterations, I was able to recreate all 4 flavours pretty closely same texture, similar taste, \~20g protein, but at a fraction of the cost.
Tip: At times binding might be an issue, I personally add a few more dates and peanut butter to tackle this, but alternatively you can skip molding them into bars and either consume them directly or make laddoos (balls).
Here's the ingredient breakdown:
** Double Cocoa:**
1. Cashews: 22.8 g
2. Dates: 17.4 g
3. Whey protein blend: 12.7 g
4. Almonds: 6.7 g
5. Cocoa powder: 4.0 g
6. Cocoa butter: 3.35 g (regular butter works just fine)
** Peanut Cocoa:**
1. Peanuts: 30.8 g (\~31 g)
2. Dates: 18.8 g (\~19 g)
3. Whey protein blend: 11.4 g
4. Cocoa powder: 2.7 g
5. Cocoa butter: 3.35 g (regular butter works just fine)
** Coffee Cocoa:**
1. Cashews: 23.5 g
2. Dates: 16.8 g
3. Whey protein blend: 12.7 g
4. Almonds: 6.7 g
5. Cocoa powder: 2.0 g
6. Coffee: 2.0 g (chicory or no chicory)
7. Cocoa butter: 3.35 g (regular butter works just fine)
** Hazelnut Cocoa:**
1. Hazelnuts: 26.5 g
2. Dates: 16.5 g
3. Whey protein blend: 15.0 g
4. Cashews: 3.0 g
5. Cocoa butter: 3.0 g (regular butter works just fine)
6. Cocoa powder: 3.0 g
(https://preview.redd.it/064794w1blsg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ab98845ef8c067a6920e0e0ec4b4b9938d1bf49)
(https://preview.redd.it/km5uqda1blsg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=3259e38c8278f3862b481269eb089f9f0351c7b9)
Why this have no upvote lol. Good shi brah
I have upvoted, saved and took a screenshot in case this gets deleted. I need to buy a new cooking hat now.
So rather than spending bucks on their bars i just have to eat this all to get same thing right?
What price difference did you get between your own creation vs the packaged bar
do you just mix all the ingredients or bake it?
(https://preview.redd.it/m2k35heujlsg1.jpeg?width=906&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be7cb67ebe082a024dd3c31a2c9159568bf353f6)
Sharing the making cost v/s retail price:
|Flavor|My Cost|Retail (Instamart)|Savings|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|** Peanut Cocoa**|₹49.6|₹150|**\~67% cheaper**|
|** Double Cocoa**|₹75.2|₹150|**\~50% cheaper**|
|** Coffee Cocoa**|₹73.9|₹150|**\~51% cheaper**|
|** Hazelnut Cocoa**|₹131.2|₹150|**\~13% cheaper**|
Thanks for this post but no shit they literally list the ingredients and their proportion on the pack
I made the same like 1 year ago, never got the time to post the whole recipe
(https://preview.redd.it/7hbjmxdbolsg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=897a75efab346a9b1045911f9e0126aa393a9880)
I work at The Whole Truth :)
I can safely say that we have been putting the % composition of each ingredient in the bar on the pack from day one, for this purpose!
This is food you can make at home. As food should be.
No marketing or legal team is going to come and ask you to take this down. More power to you and anyone who has the time and interest in making this at home! The others can buy us where they buy food :)
You can come to our kitchen sometime and make a few bars to takeaway too, if you are interested. It will be very similar to what you did at home, plus a load of lab tests for safety.
So glad you liked the bar recipe and shared it here. Favourite platform x favourite brand!
Edit: Our chef asks you to try using cocoa butter instead of butter to get some more shelf life. I think it helps with your binding problem too :)