Make Your Own Fruit, Nut, and Protein Bars

Bake Energy Bars at Home with this Universal Recipe

Feb 8, 2009 Jeff Chan

Commercially produced energy bars are a staple in the backpacks and pockets of active people. Save money and enjoy better quality bars by following this simple recipe.

Making Energy Bars is Quick and Easy

This recipe makes delicious bars that are packed with vitamins, protein, and carbohydrates - perfect for hiking, biking, or camping. It’s also fully customizable to conform to preferences, allergies, and what’s in the cupboard. So start with this recipe and work from there.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almonds (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 cup cashews (roughly chopped)
• 2 3/4 cup oats
• 1 cup milk powder
• 1/2 cup cranberries (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 cup raisins (roughly chopped)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup dates (finely chopped)
• 3/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. Combine the almonds, cashews, cranberries, raisins, oats, milk powder, cinnamon, flax seeds, and hemp seeds in a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix finely chopped dates with honey.
3. (optional) Gently heat dates and honey in a small pot until the mixture reaches a watery consistency. This makes mixing easier.
4. Add honey/date mixture to the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
5. Press mixture into a greased or non-stick casserole dish. Spread out to desired thickness (about 2cm is good) and pack down well (Note: a large metal spoon heated in hot water works well because it won’t stick to the mixture).
6. Cut the bars to the desired size (they’re hard to cut after baking).
7. Bake at 275 Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes (or longer if you like crunchier bars).

Guidelines for Substitutions and Customizing:

• The key to customizing the recipe is learning to recognize correct mixture consistency before baking. Tilt the mixing bowl to the side a little bit and stir. The mixture is right if it somewhat holds the shape of the bowl as it falls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Golden rule: if the mixture is too sticky, add more dry stuff (nuts, oats, etc.). If it’s too dry, add more sticky stuff (honey).

To Make High-Protein Bars

Very active people may want to increase the protein content of their bars. This can be done in several ways:

• More seeds and nuts. These have high protein content but also have a high fat content.
• Skim milk powder adds protein without the fat.
• Protein powders have a very high protein content and almost no fat. There are a variety of powders available made from whey, flax, hemp, etc. They come in flavours ranging from chocolate to vanilla to strawberry.

Make the Recipe Your Own!

Other ingredients that go well into energy bars are sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, wheat germ, oat bran, pumpkin seeds, dried apples, and chocolate chips. Everyone has different tastes, so get to the kitchen and start experimenting!

The copyright of the article Make Your Own Fruit, Nut, and Protein Bars in Recipes is owned by Jeff Chan. Permission to republish Make Your Own Fruit, Nut, and Protein Bars in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Jeff's Favourite Energy Bars

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Comments

Feb 12, 2009 12:43 PM

Guest :

Best Energy bars I've ever had.

Feb 21, 2009 4:20 PM

Jeff Chan :

Thanks! I'm glad you liked them.

Mar 24, 2009 6:22 PM

Guest :

this is a great recipe, i love how i can substitute things to my own liking. Im making pumpkin, sesame, and apricot bars. I'll let you know how they turn out. Thanks

Apr 10, 2009 5:08 AM

Guest :

Do you know the nutritional info for these bars? Thanks! They really are delicious!

4 Comments