Very simple homemade protein bars with just four ingredients! Gluten and dairy free, chewy with almond butter and honey tastes. Add my strawberry cashew energy bits, almond butter pretzel bites, apple pie energy bites, coconut lemon poppy seed energy bites, and chocolate pecan pie energy bites to your snack arsenal.

So we’d moved into our new home and were surrounded by boxes (but were reducing those a little day by day). And I’m now suffering from a terrible cold.

I woke up with a scratchy throat a few days ago, thinking it was simply because the air was dry and I’d slept for, oh, three hours in the previous few days.

The cats have been having a difficult time with the relocation, and it seems that they are coping by crawling all over us as we sleep, scratching their new carpeting, and attempting to scale the walls. Literally.

We decided to try locking them out of their bedroom at night (something they had never done in their 11 years of life), and let me tell you… it went SO wonderfully.

One of the cats was sleeping upside down on a perch below, snoring. The other handled it by yelling at the top of his lungs for five hours straight.

Hence there will be no sleep for Bluebirdcafela.com. That’s why I thought I had a sore throat. I was completely mistaken, since it grew so awful over the following 24 hours that I couldn’t swallow without tears welling up in my eyes. A cough, itchy eyes, and frequent sneezing followed over the following 24 hours.

50, since the congestion has spread to my ears. I’m so congested now that I’ve turned into a mouth-breathing savage. I can’t taste or smell anything, and my hearing is only 50 percent.

Fortunately for you, you are probably not ill (at least, I hope not; if you are, please come over and be nasty with me while I watch Supernatural reruns with the volume cranked up to 11), and you can taste these delicious Rise almond honey protein bars (affiliate link).

These homemade protein bars are so simple to make and store in the fridge that you’ll find it difficult not to make huge quantities of them. If you want to make more than eight bars, just double the recipe!

Wrap them separately in parchment paper and plastic wrap and store them in a jar in the fridge for easy access throughout the week.

I chose to prepare a duplicate recipe for them after tasting them at Bill’s aunt and uncle’s place during our March storm evacuation. They were kind enough to let us stay with them and provide great dinners for us every night.

In the meanwhile, I was so upset about the state of the home that I didn’t have much of an appetite, so I snacked on the Rise bars they had in the cupboard. I got sucked in. So, in order to save money (due to the mortgage, you know), I wanted to see whether I could create them myself.

Furthermore, congratulations! Homemade protein bars do not have to be frightening; often all it takes is a little trial and error to discover the exact mix of ingredients that is both delicious and does not taste like chalk.

Making almond honey protein bars

These are the ingredients I use to make these homemade protein bars (affiliate links):

• I only use Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour!
• Vega Vanilla Protein Powder: Since it is gluten and soy free, I always use Vega Protein & Greens.
• I’m currently looking for my favorite brand of smooth almond butter, although I’ve had good luck with Barney Butter and MaraNatha.
• Raw honey: As always, I used Boston Honey Company honey, but you may substitute whatever raw honey you choose.
• Then to combine everything, I use my KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Mixer.

That’s all there is to it!