need a protein bar/cookie recipe - doesn't have to be LC

[Agee]

My 7 year old is very skinny and small and takes medicine that makes him not very hungry during the day. I've noticed that he hasn't been eating lunch at school (or very little of it), which makes him a nasty boy when I pick him up. He is allowed to eat snack at school, but he doesn't eat that either. He's too busy! All he eats the whole day is a couple bits of sandwich (usually pb + homemade j)and his granola bar. No fruit, no cheese stick, nothing "whole" - although we send it to school.
At home we try to focus on the protein with him. He usually has a good breakfast and a good dinner and once he's home he'll have a snack, but only if I offer it (which I sometimes forget, to be honest). But I really think he'd do better and feel better during the day if he ate something more substantial.
I'm looking for a couple good, tasty recipes for a cookie or a bar or something that I can make that has a lot of protein and fat. It can have sugar, just not a ton. If he helps me make them he will eat them, and he'll especially eat them if they are delicious.
Thoughts? He's not super picky, but he won't eat raisins and it'd help if this looked and tasted like a normal homemade cookie or bar. Peanut butter, nuts, chocolate, eggs, wheat - everything is ok. He has no food allergies except for red dye sensitivity.
TIA,
m

[WildflowerMama]

I make this for my kids and they ADORE it. My DD won't eat sandwiches for lunch - really, she won't eat much of anything. She would prefer to just eat crackers or carby foods over protein. She doesn't get nearly enough protein so, I make these bean cookies. They have no idea they have beans in them and the tiny bit of dark chocolate makes my kids think they are getting away with something really decadent. All their friends are super jealous that their mom makes them "cookies" for lunch

Here is the original recipe - I put my tweaks next to it in parenthesis.

High Protein Bean Cookies:
2 cups oats (I used old fashioned)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cinnamon (optional)
¼ tsp salt
one 19-oz (540-mL) can white kidney or navy beans, rinsed and drained (I used fresh beans that I soaked overnight, cooked the next morning and allowed to cool)
¼ cup butter, softened (I used coconut oil)
1 cup packed brown sugar (I used 2/3 cup coconut palm sugar because it's low GI and 2 T molasses)
zest of one orange (I used dried orange rind but you couldn't even taste it so you could leave it out)
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla
½ cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
½ cup raisins or dried cranberries (I did golden raisins but you could certainly leave them out since he doesn't care for them)
¼–½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I did raw sunflower seeds since their class is nut free)
2–4 Tbsp ground flaxseed (optional) (I forgot to add this and they were fine - I think the addition might make them too dry so, in all the batches I've made, I've left out the flaxseed)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the oats in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse flour. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and process until combined. Transfer to a large bowl.

Put the beans into the food processor and pulse until roughly puréed. Add the butter and process until well blended. Add the brown sugar, orange zest, egg and vanilla and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Pour the bean mixture into the oat mixture and stir by hand until almost combined; add the chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts and flaxseed and stir just until blended. Drop large spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, and flatten each one a little with your hand. (I just greased my hands and pressed the whole thing into a bar pan so I could cut them into bars instead of making cookies) Bake for 14–16 minutes, until pale golden around the edges but still soft in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

[Agee]

Ohhh...beans! That's a great idea. I was thinking I'd have to buy protein powder. I'll definitely try this, although I'll leave the fruit out and put in more chips, maybe. I'd also like to use honey instead of the sugar, since we have our own bees and just had a honey harvest. I'll have to play with the ratio of brown sugar/honey.
Sounds great!
A

[Indychick829]

Lauren's site has some FABULOUS protein bar / nut bar recipes...
I've tried the crunchy low carb coconut bars (they have a strong coconut flavor so if he doesn't like coconut these won't work) and I absolutely LOVE them!

Crunchy Coconut Bars

and they were pretty easy to make!

the other one is:
Atkins Bars

haven't tried these yet, but they look easy enough

[BikerAng]

Those crunchy coconut bars are SO good. I just love them. However, they don't transport (they need to be kept chilled) because they are bound together with coconut oil and nut butter.

[Indychick829]

Originally Posted by BikerAng

Those crunchy coconut bars are SO good. I just love them. However, they don't transport (they need to be kept chilled) because they are bound together with coconut oil and nut butter.

that is true...forgot that - i took mine with me to work in my lunchbox, but have an ice pack in there.

[2big4mysize]

if you want to go with pinto beans there are tons of recipes for cakes and pies made with them.

also will he eat dates? you can buy laura bars already flavored at the store. I take them home and in a food porcesser grind up nuts and seeds of choice I've used pumpkin, flax, pecans, almonds, sunflower and walnut successfully. I add 4T of nut and seed to each bar to sneak healthy protein and fats into my mother's snacks.

then add the Lara bars and remember how many you added casue you want that many bars back out.

then dump mixture on waxpaper in a bownie pan and mush it out to edges. if your pan is 8 by 8 and you added 16 bars cut your pan into 16 servings. or you can roill it into a log and then cut the log into as many rounds as you had bars and them smash to bar size. wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and sen with him.

that would be 16 bars of the same flavor and 4 cups of nuts and/or seed of his choice.

does he like any dried fruits? if so you could make gorp for him with his favorite nuts seeds and dried fruits and get cals and proteins and fats in him.

[Agee]

These are all great ideas. We tried the bean cookie recipe and he loves them. My husband said they're too dry but they weren't made for him...they were made for my son!
I like the date bar ideas, but Lara bars are really pricey to send in his lunch unless I found some half-size ones. I like the idea of making my own.
Keep the ideas coming!
Adrienne

[2big4mysize]

we use the laura bars cause they are already flavored and Mom likes the apple pie and key lime ones. by the time I buy the dates, limes, dried apples, spices and the nuts/seeds they were more expensive then the bars. I watch for the 10 for 10 say at Kroger and go stock up.

but you could giv ehim half a bar with the nuts/seeds added to save money.