Protein Bars (Soy-Free)

I love these little protein bars. They taste better than the cardboard stuff at the store, are much cheaper to make than anything store-bought, are relatively low-calorie, and you can tailor their flavors to suit your tastes. Of course, the fact that they have the wonderful consistency of homemade brownies doesn't hurt anything...

Ingredients:
1 c. whey protein powder. I use either vanilla or chocolate flavor, depending on my mood.
1/4 c. oat bran.
1/2 c. wheat germ.
1/2 c. flour.
1/2 tsp. salt.
12 ounces of plain yogurt. Regular, fat-free, it's all good. I don't even measure, I just eyeball it.
2/3 c. peanut butter.
1/2 c. brown sugar.
1/2 c. Splenda (optional). I add some extra Splenda because I like the bars a bit sweeter, but want to pass on the additional calories.
2 eggs.
1/2 c. milk.
1/2 to 1 cup of topping of your choice. You can use just about anything: nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, etc. The favorites in my house are chocolate chip/shredded coconut combo, and dried pineapple/shredded coconut.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cover the bottom of a 13x9 glass baking pan with parchment paper, and grease bottom and sides well with non-stick spray. You can skip the parchment, but these bars do have a tendency to stick. It won't really hurt the bars, but you'll spend more time scrubbing the pan.

Mix the milk, sugar, yogurt, peanut butter, Splenda and eggs until well-combined. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the topping, and mix for 2-3 minutes until completely blended. It should look like a brownie or cake batter.

Pour the mixture into the pan and sprinkle the toppings on top. Put it in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Let the bars cool completely before cutting into squares. I cut each batch into anywhere from 24-36 squares, depending on how large I want them. While they smell and taste quite good, be sure not to gorge on them! They're surprisingly filling in your stomach. Two squares makes a great meal replacer, while one is a good snack.

Once they're thoroughly cool, I keep them in a gallon-sized freezer bag in the refrigerator. They easily keep for a week that way. They also freeze well. They don't last more than a day or so at room temp, but you don't need to worry about keeping them cold if you're packing them up for a day of hiking or something.