I Accidentally Made Caramel

I found this "healthy" Chocolate Oaties recipe online with the title of "sugar-free chocolate oaties" and the first ingredient was 3/4 cup of honey.

Um.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you my revised version and how I accidentally made caramel.

In a large saucepan with the stove on med-low, combine:

3/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)
and
1/2 cup coconut oil (pre-melted to make it easier to measure)

Then, add one full scoop of casein* protein powder

and 1/3 cup cocoa powder

Blend well using a stick blender, as the casein likes to clump up

add 1/4 tsp salt and 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

then add 3 cups of quick oats and mix well. Add to cookie sheets with silicone baking mats (why doesn't everyone have these?!) or parchment paper and freeze for 15 minutes. Then put in a container and store in the fridge.

I know, that doesn't look very appetizing. Blame my phone and its lack of wanting to be cooperative with the flash. They really are tasty.

*Casein is amazing stuff. Unlike whey, which is a pre and post workout quick protein boost, Casein is a slow-digesting protein. It will thicken up like a malt when you make shakes with it, and will thicken even further in your stomach when exposed to heat. When I made this recipe, I added the agave, oil and casein and when it reacted to the heat, not only did it thicken up but it started to get toasty and brown, almost like a caramel sauce. It was pretty cool. I used Optimum Nutrition vanilla flavored casein for this recipe because that's what I had, but I would recommend chocolate or chocolate peanut butter flavored casein. If you make large oaties (about 15 of them) they come out to be almost 2 grams of protein each and add only 8 calories per oatie.