Hemp seed bars

A while back my husband and I were having a discussion on vegetarian protein sources.  My daughter refuses to eat meat, which I am okay with as long as she gets her protein from plants.  And for the most part she does eat plant based protein sources.  Sometimes she needs a little coaxing, sometimes we have a stand off over it.

But since she is so picky and eats like a bird, she needs more variety to keep her interested in her food and I need more creative options to provide for her and keep her healthy. 

So I found an awesome entry on The Greatist blog about 12 vegetarian protein sources.  This was an exciting eye-opener for me. 

Some of the usual suspects are included on the list.  I already knew quinoa is a great source of protein and we eat it often in our home.  My daughter doesn't really care for it.  I'm not sure why. I tried telling her its rice but she didn't buy it.  Chia seeds are black, so she won't eat them.   Ezekiel Bread?  She gave it a good try.  We are still working on that one.  Beans are definitely a winner as is peanut butter and hummus. 

There are few new options that I find exciting: Buckwheat?  Hemp Seeds?  Spirulina? And I've never heard of Quorn before. 

I like trying food with unusual ingredients, so I wanted to try hemp seeds right away (insert hemp jokes from my husband here).   If its protein source I can feed my daughter, then I totally want to try it.  And I found a winner.  Its from a great blog called Running on Real Food.  

           

These are called 5 Ingredient Paleo Bars.  I took a recommendation from one of the reviewers to add some cocoa powder (photo on right). And they were good. One caveat though: I would use less coconut oil the next time I try them. I think 1/4 C coconut oil was too much.  It was kinda like biting into some paraffin wax, if you know what I mean. But it was still good, I think it just needs a little less coconut oil. If you try them, use just enough to hold them together and tell me how it goes.