Make Your Own Energy Bars

In the current turmoil, we as the consumer have to start preparing our own food and not buying ready-made. I have turned my attention on power bars, I eat a lot of power bars while doing my exercises, specifically while on my bike. Instead of buying power bars, I have started to make them myself.

In this article, I will break down a few ways to make your own healthy energy bar. Let’s start off with a simple, but great recipe. It requires very little time or cooking skills.

Basic energy Bar Recipe

Start off breaking up your favorite dark chocolate bar (70% cocoa or more) into tiny chunks. Then mix 1 cup of natural peanut butter and 1 cup of honey in a non-stick pot under medium heat. Cook this until fully mixed, and slightly runny. Next, add 3 cups of old fashioned uncooked, non-instant oatmeal and mix well. Take this off the heat and let cool for 2 minutes. Add the dark chocolate to the mix while still warm. Press this into a pan. Put in the fridge until completely cool, and cut to the desired bar size. Enjoy.

This bar is so beautifully simple and tasty. It is one of my favorite quick bars. You get good fats and protein from the peanut butter, some good fiber from the oats, a quick boost from the honey sugars, and some antioxidants and caffeine from the chocolate. Beautiful.

This next recipe is very good and fruity and carries a lot of flavors and cheap energy.

Raisin Energy Bar Recipe

Take 8 ounces of raisins, pitted dates, and figs and send them through a food processor. Mix this with 1 cup almond butter, and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Be patient as it can be difficult to grind up and mix this gooey mess. Then take this mess and flatten it in a pan to 1/2 inch thick. Let it sit in the pan and dry for a couple of hours, then cut into bars, and wrap in Saran Wrap.

These bars are so packed with natural sugar that you will get your second wind seconds after eating one. Its also packed with Protein and Vitamin E to rebuild those muscles.

Fruit, Honey, and Coconut Energy Bar

I got this recipe from RecipeZaar, and have been making it like crazy since. Here is what you will need:

1 cup peanut butter (or experiment with almond butter, too)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2/3 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries or raisins (or a combination)
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/3 cup shredded coconut
3 cups puffed brown rice cereal

1. Grease an 8×8 pan with a cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract until well-combined.
3. Add the sunflower seeds, dried fruit, sesame seeds, and coconut and combine thoroughly with the peanut butter mixture.
4. Gradually add the puffed brown rice cereal to this.
5. This is where a child comes in handy – this step is gooey and messy and best mixed with your hands- and kids love stuff like that.
6. Firmly press the mixture into the prepared 8×8 pan; you’ll need to get your hands slightly, otherwise, the mixture just sticks to them.
7. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, then cut and go biking!

You can also change up the fruit or add some chocolate (similar to the first recipe) to this mix to change it up a bit.

My Favorite Energy Bar Recipe

Here is my favorite recipe, the taste is oaty, chewy, with a hint of spice and a walnut crunch. Easy to make, and great for people on different special diets.

Ingredients:

Combine in a blender (or mash and mix by hand):
2 Tbsp flax seeds (grind in the blender first) or 3 Tbsp pre-ground flax
3 large very ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 c)
1/4 – 1/3 c oil or melted butter (coconut oil tastes great)
1/4 c unsweetened apple or white grape juice concentrate (or maple syrup, or agave syrup)
2 – 4 tsp vanilla

Combine separately:
2 c large flake / old fashioned oats rolled (for gluten-free use gluten-free oats)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
*1/8 – 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Mix wet with dry. Then add:
1/2 c walnuts (chopped roughly)
1/2 c dates (chopped roughly)
*2 Tbsp candied orange peel (chopped finely) OR 1 tsp finely grated zest from an orange or lemon
*2 ounces of dark chocolate (chopped roughly) OR 1/3 c dark chocolate chips

*optional ingredients

(if you have the time, let the batter sit for 10 minutes or longer – if not, they still work out great)

Grease a medium-sized pan and press mixture in. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 for about 40 minutes. Allow cooling at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy these superb bars!

Doing it yourself, you will save cash and you will actually know what is going into the energy bar that you are about to eat on a long ride.

Peanut Energy Bar Recipe

Here is another recipe that I picked up recently and tried, they’re very rich:

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter (or experiment with almond butter, too)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sunflower seed
• 2/3 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries or raisins (or a combination)
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 3 cups puffed brown rice cereal
• butter, to grease pan

Other Optional Ingredients

• chocolate or carob chips (optional)
• sliced almonds (other nuts are a little too oily for this) (optional)

Directions

1. Grease an 8×8 pan with a little butter.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract until well-combined.
3. Add the sunflower seeds, dried fruit, sesame seeds, and coconut and combine thoroughly with the peanut butter mixture.
4. Gradually add the puffed brown rice cereal to this.
5. This is where a child comes in handy– this step is gooey and messy and best mixed with your hands- and kids love stuff like that.
6. Firmly press the mixture into the prepared 8×8 pan; you\’ll need to wet your hands slightly, otherwise, the mixture just sticks to them.
7. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, then cut and serve.

Anyone else has any good recipes to share?