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Wherever you and your body stand right now, you’ll need a great way of getting a compact, high protein source without adding a lot of meat to your diet. I have personally tested the Bruculinu Bakery’s Sicilian Protein Bars (pronounced Brook-queue-lean-u), which pick me up sans the post blood sugar spike.
Why Sicilian? These flavors are classic dessert flavors, inspired by a sun soaked, sea breeze swept, volcanic soil and rock island where my families originate. If you have ever tasted Sicilian baked goods you know that they are the marriage of heaven and art. In culinary circles, Sicilian monks and bakers are widely credited for adding sugar to their baked treats and creating modern cakes and pastries, creams, custards and gelato.
Bruculinu Sicilian Protein Bars are very easy and far tastier than the store bought ones or those found on the internet. Prep time is 20 minutes the first time and 10 minutes for the attempts thereafter. Tools: a stiff fork, whisk, zesting tool (for this I like a five-hole peeler vs. rasp or grater), 2 – 2.5 L/Qt bowls, wax paper, 1 - 9x13” pan or multiple smaller pans.
The inspiration for these comes from my buddy and figure competitor Kerri Bolen, who was featured in the summer print issue of Sashay.
Ingredients
13 oz jar of MaraNatha Dark Chocolate Almond Spread
¾-1 cup of Sunmaid Zante Currannts (enough to achieve good distribution in the mix and to your taste)
1 California navel orange, the coarse zest of
6 tbsp of flax seed meal – This will give you massive doses of Omega3’s.
1½ cups of Whey protein – Bob’s Red Brand Mills
3 tbsp of Coarse Orange flavored Psyllium Fiber
2 tbsp of powdered egg whites – {Get a 3oz. can of Deb El brand or similar; you will need them for the next few recipes we will share}
Water
4 500mg Vitamin C tablets, mortar and pestle to powder, or grind/crush/smash
Optional: up to 3 tbsp of uncooked, old- fashioned oats for a dusting
In one bowl rough mix all of your dry ingredients with the fork, then whisk from the top down to fully blend the mixture. To ensure that the Dark Chocolate Almond spread flows out of the jar easily make sure it is warm; put it in the garage or window in the sun for a while--do not microwave.
Empty the contents into the other bowl. With fork, blend in ¼ of the dry mix. Repeat with another ¼ of the mix and ½ of the Zante Currants. Add 2-5 tbsp of water. Add another ¼ of the dry mix and the balance of the Zante Currants. Add water again. You want a nice moist mix--not cake batter or soup. Add the last ¼ of the dry mix. Incorporate until you cannot see dry ingredients; you may need to add a touch of water.
Add coarse zest of ½ the navel orange into your dry mix bowl. Let the skin spray its luscious oils and flavor into the bowl. I love the long strings and curls of the rind. Place ½ the mix on top of the zest and rough blend. Zest the rest of the navel orange the same way on top of the mix. Cover with the balance of the mix and rough mix it all together. My wife eats the naked orange.
Line your pan with wax paper, dull side to the pan. If you are like me and apprenticed in a skilled trade as a kid, you know how to fold a lead pan for a shower stall so no paper cutting. If not, fold the paper to fit the bottom, cut down in the corners and tuck the paper in. Place the mix in the lined pan and freeze until semi-firm for an hour. Optional: If you love oats, lightly dust the bottom of the paper liner with one tbsp or so of uncooked oats and add mix on top, flatten and then dust the top. This is decorative, so don’t worry about the oats that do not stick; just eat them. Italian cooking as learned from my mom: Respect food, use the best, be simple, utilitarian and waste nothing.
After an hour pull the liner out of the pan and lay it flat on the counter. Using a large sturdy knife or meat clever, divide into bars that you like or about 2”x 4”. Cut the wings of the paper liner you made and use them as separators. Use the bottom paper as it becomes available, place in a self-locking plastic bag and store in the freezer. Freezing overnight improves the flavor. Eat frozen or take out a few when you wish to have them and let them warm and soften for a few minutes.
If you use peanut butter, let’s say the “choosy mothers” brand, to make similar bars, the Sicilian Protein Bars have 10 percent less fat (~2g) and ~5 – 10 times less sodium. High blood pressure? I don’t think so.
Bruculinu Bakery’s Sicilian Protein Bars start off with three times the sugar compared to peanut butter, but peanut butter recipes typically require that you add 3 tbsp or more of honey (16g sugar, 17g carbs and 60 cal/tbsp). So step up and ditch the PB.
You can substitute a bodybuilding, “scientifically” designed or optimized whey protein, but I will keep mine as natural as possible. If you want all the additional electrolytes of the bodybuilding supplement, I will suggest washing Sicilian Protein Bars down with a tall cold glass of Diet V8 Splash. It is the best undiscovered “sports drink” out there. I have been using regular and diet V8 Splash with my kids and athletes for 15 years and they love it. Enjoy and ciao!
