Forums » Health & Wellness » Nutrition

1. Moe
   Member

   I've been experimenting with coming up with a tasty and nutritious homemade energy bar as a cheaper and healthier alternative to store bought Clif Bar-like options. My latest concoctions have been pretty darn tasty and I'm hoping some of the nutritionists on board will offer their feedback or suggestions. Are there any better alternatives to some of my listed ingredients (that are also tasty)? Is there anything I should be aware of or careful of with these ingredients? What about brown rice syrup? I am using quite a bit of it and wonder about it's health benefits or if there is a better alternative? I've already switched out honey for agave nectar in order to lower the glycemic index.
   I'm mainly looking for a healthy & convenient high protein snack to help with some of my long training days when I can never seem to eat enough food!

   This makes a whole bunch of bars -- maybe 24 or so? not sure, but it fills a 13x9" pan.

   2 C Quick Oats
   2 C Grape Nuts
   1 C Natural Peanut Butter (no salt)
   1 1/2 C Organic Brown Rice Syrup
   1/4 C Agave Nectar
   1/2 C Peanuts
   1/2 C sliced almonds
   1/2 C sunflower seeds
   1/2 C cashews
   4 T Flax Seed Meal
   3-4 T Wheat Germ
   2 scoops Soy-Spirulina vanilla protein powder
   (All of the nuts are raw and no-salt)

   I also add dried fruit sometimes (berries mostly) and will sometimes change up the nuts a bit with varieties like 1 C macadamias in place of the sunflower seeds and cashews which has been my latest favorite version.

   I'd love to come up with a final recipe that tastes great and that I know is healthy so I can post for others. Some of my friends are already asking for the recipe, so if any of the nutritionists out there have any input, it'd be much appreciated! :)

   Posted 5 years ago #

2. CJ
   Member

   Here is a link to an energy bar reciepe from the food network's website.

   http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_33623,00.html

   Posted 5 years ago #

3. hardly
   Member

   Alton Brown's "Good Eats" had an episode on this topic, and it looked pretty good to me. The episode is called "Power Trip", and they had three different recipes:

   Brown Rice Crispy Bar
   http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31334,00.html

   Granola Bars
   http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31335,00.html

   Protein Bars: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31336,00.html

   In looking at all these recipes, it occurs to me that there are some basics, and then there are the add'l items that make it your own. I may have to try making some of these!

   Posted 5 years ago #

4. gardenmentor
   Member

   these all sound delicious!

   Posted 5 years ago #

5. Moe
   Member

   Thanks for the recipes! I'll probably play around with them a bit and hopefully come up with a couple myself that I'll gladly share.

   Posted 5 years ago #

6. Lisa Sabin
   Administrator

   These recipes look great. I may have to give them a try too.

   Posted 5 years ago #

7. mtbman1
   Member

   Here is a recipe I found. Haven't tried it yet, though.

   http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=3627

   Posted 5 years ago #

8. jdkcubed
   Member

   An amazing taste change -- EASY. I often mix my own granola from all types of grains at my local health food store. And if you want to add a crunchy, nutty taste to you energy bars (granola) add "Popped Flax Seeds".
   1 tbsp flax seeds in a small custard dish or coffee cup (MUST be glass orceramic plastic will melt!!) cover with paper towel microwave 35 secs. SHAKE then microwave another 45 secs or until "popping" slows down (just like popcorn). Be care they are HOT so leave them cool uncovered (so the steam escapes) when cool add to your bars - amazing flavor. microwaves vary, so will popping times.

   Posted 4 years ago #

9. msteechur
   Member

   Those look REALLY healthy Moe. If you want to get a nutrition breakdown, you can get a free account at http://www.recipezaar.com and enter them in. In a few days they'll let you know your recipe has been figured out and you can go check out the nutrition breakdown. If you don't want to or don't feel comfortable doing that, and wouldn't mind if I put it in my Recipezaar account, I could do it for you. (I didn't want to be presumptuous.) Then when the breakdown comes in I can post it here.

   My email is tory at journey-fitness.com

   Tory
   http://www.journey-fitness.com

   Posted 4 years ago #

10. msteechur
    Member

    Oh, and while we're sharing, I have a pre-workout "muffin" I make that could easily be taken with you on a bike ride or run as they are pretty dense. I just put them in muffin tins and let them bake in a toaster oven while I get ready. They're VERY simple.

    1/2 small banana (the mushier the better)
    1/2 cup rolled oats
    1-2 Tbs ground flax seed (although I'm going to try the popped)
    1 tsp or so pumpkin pie spice (or equivalent)
    1/4 tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp baking soda
    1-2 egg whites
    a few cranberries, berries, cherries, etc. (dried) for some flavor snap

    Mush bananas, mix in dry stuff, toss in whites, feed yolks to dogs begging at your feet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes while you get ready for your run. Make coffee. Let cool. Eat while reading your favorite running-related book (Marathon Woman is what I'm reading right now).

    Options:
    Replace banana with about 1/4 cup pumpkin (healthier than healthy...good stuff), add a bit of sweetener and a pinch of salt.

    Toss in some nuts.

    Bounce a few chocolate chips in (I poke them into the middle for a little surprise)

    Bake as bars and take along for a ride. If you overcook them a bit you can get them crispy.

    Pop some millet or try other grains.

    These don't really taste like "muffins" as much as a really good hearty...almost like a breakfast cookie, but not the "we just pretend we're healthy but really are junk food in disguise" type breakfast cookies. I like them because they're VERY easy (whip it up in less than 5 minutes, allowing time to trip over dogs three times), are easy on my stomach before a race, have good staying power, yet don't fill me up to the point they feel heavy on the stomach. They actually started as oatmeal banana pancakes, but I kept burning the little buggers so I bought a toaster oven and started baking them. Since it has a timer, no more burned banana pancakes. (Alas, no more Jack Johnson song going through my head the entire time either.)

    Tory
    http://www.journey-fitness.com

    Posted 4 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.