On Saturday during our Hawaii vacation, we drove halfway around the island to see our favorite hula show. I snagged the coveted couches in the open-air lounge as an elderly couple abandoned them, and we all settled in to wait for the torch lighting ceremony to begin.
Throughout the evening, a waitress periodically stopped by to ask for our orders. Everyone put in requests at different times—Dad for a quesadilla before the entertainment started; Mom for a salad in between the torch lighting and hula show; and my brother for a BBQ pizza and passion fruit smoothie while the dancers ran offstage to change clothes.
As an indecisive self-proclaimed snacker, I usually sneak bits and pieces off of other people’s plates to make up my meals. (I can hardly choose just one dish to try on a menu!) But I spent the show distracted by the sweet four-year-old girls up on stage, and I completely forgot to steal enough samples to satisfy my stomach from my family’s dinners!
Before I even buckled my seatbelt, my tummy started rumbling. No way could I survive the 1.5-hour drive back to the condo with a snack! I rustled around the trunk in the pitch-black darkness until I nearly knocked over Mom’s beach bag. Bingo!
An avid hiker, Dad always stashes some energy bars in the car on our vacations, just in case we pass by an interesting trailhead (or he gets hungry). As I ripped one open, my brother asked what I was doing.
“Uhh… Finishing my dinner?”
AKA enjoying pure pretzel and peanut buttery bliss! But when I saw the Mojo™ Nutrition Label back at the condo, I knew I could come up with a lighter version.
My first attempt resulted in what I lovingly referred to as “The Mojo Granola”—too dry and crumbly to stick together as bars! Try #2 came out just perfect, and Dad smiled a bit bigger than normal when I said I’d leave the whole batch with him. (P.S. Check out the Nutrition Information below to see how mine compares to the original!)
These are sweet, salty, soft, and really peanut buttery. They’re a great afternoon or hiking snack!
- Lightly coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside.
- Add half of the soy crisps to a blender or food processor, and pulse 3-4 times. Pour into a large bowl and break up any large pieces with your fingers. Repeat with the remaining soy crisps. Add the soy protein powder to the bowl, and stir until evenly distributed.
- Add the powdered peanut butter, water, and agave to a small pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula, for about 3 minutes until it begins to boil. Let it boil for 15-20 seconds before pouring over the soy mixture. Stir with the spatula until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour the soy mixture into the prepared pan, and carefully press down. In order, sprinkle the peanuts, pretzels, and peanut butter chips over top, pressing each down into the soy mixture. Cut into 10 bars.
Notes: I used Whole Food’s 365 Everyday Value Soy Crisps, Sea Salt flavor. These were lower in fat and higher in protein than other brands.
I cut each of my peanut butter chips in half to ensure there’d be a little bit in every bite, but you can sprinkle the whole chips on top instead if you’re in a hurry!
Hi, these look great, but was wondering what the nutritional value is for these bars?
Thanks Amy! There’s a link to the Nutrition Information right below the recipe. 🙂
These look delicious! Im on the mission to find a way to make my own protein bars as I always have to have food on my due to my hypoglycemia. Is there a way to add more fiber? Thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes!
Thanks Angela! If you don’t have a problem with gluten, you could substitute 1 or 2 cups of the soy crisps with fiber cereal (such as Fiber One) to help increase the fiber content. I’d love to hear what modifications you make and what you think of the bars!
Hello, am I supposed to bake these or just eat as is?
Just eat them as is! If you bake them, they’ll turn dry and crumbly. (I tried baking the first batch, and they crumbled to pieces in my hands!) I hope you enjoy the bars Shannon!
Well, I’m not sure what I did wrong but they came out sort of mushy… couldn’t cut an actual “bar” – it was more pasty consistency. I have all the ingredients so I’ll try again!
Oh no; I’m sorry about that Shannon! The bars are supposed to be firm and easy to slice through. Maybe try adding a little less water next time; it could be that different brands of soy crisps and protein powders absorb liquids differently. I really hope your next batch turns out perfectly!
It turns out that Whole Foods doesnt sell those soy crisps anymore (at least at mine) so I improvised using brown rice rice krispies and bran flakes. Not a bad first try but, I can see where I need to make improvements! Thanks for the great recipe ideas!
Thanks for sharing your substitution Angela! Since I first made these, my brother found out that he’s allergic to soy, so I’ve been trying to creatively come up with substitutions for my recipes including soy. I’d love to hear how your next batch turns out too! 🙂
Is there something I can use besides soy and soy products? I can’t tolerate soy
Of course! You can substitute rice cakes (look for the smaller snack size) in place of the soy crisps and any protein powder (whey, rice, etc.) in place of the soy protein powder. I hope you enjoy the bars!
Just wondering, can you use natural peanut butter instead of the powder? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it myself Stephanie, but I think that would work! I basically created a thin/liquidy peanut butter by boiling the powdered peanut butter and water. Because regular peanut butter contains more moisture than powdered, you can probably get away with a little less than 1/2 cup of water. I’d love to hear how the bars turn out if you try that! 🙂
Thanks! I am trying them this weekend so I will let you know! I love peanut butter, I can’t tell you how excited I am to eat them haha
You’re welcome! I love PB too, and that love just keeps growing stronger. I nibble on a little off a spoon straight from the jar every day! 😉
Ah yes, I definitely do that too haha. The bars turned out amazing! It was a great success 🙂
That’s wonderful news Stephanie; I’m so happy you liked them! Peanut butter just seems to taste better out of the jar, doesn’t it? 😉
I just made the bars and they are really good. They are just too soft, as I am typing this I put them in the freezer to firm up a bit and they were not real wet I went exactly by recipe. I know they are not like your normal firm bar any suggestions to firm it up some but not much more? Some of the bars you make are like card board and these are not. Yea!
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thanks Linda; I’m glad you enjoyed the bars! Your idea about popping them in the freezer (or even the fridge) to firm up this batch is a great one. For any future batches, I’d suggest using a little less water (i.e. 6-7 tablespoons instead of a full 1/2 cup) to make them a little less soft. I’d love to know how that turns out if you try making them again! 🙂
Hi there, i’m just wondering think you could replace the soy crisps with something alittle crunchier than soy crisps/rice crispies? I used the rice crispies and i found they were a bit too soggy. i was thinking something like rolled oats?
Since Mojo bars are chewy rather than crunchy, I actually wanted a softer texture. However, if you follow the recipe and then bake the bars at 300°F for about 10-15 minutes, they’ll turn a little bit crunchier. You could also try using rice cakes instead of rice kripsies. I hope that helps Stefanie!