Homemade Energy Bars

[campforums]

I came across a great article on how to make your own energy bars for trips when you are short on space but big on hunger!

Ingredients

• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup ground flax seeds
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups smooth, natural peanut butter
• 1 cup honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first nine ingredients (sunflower seeds through cranberries).
3. In a large sauce pan, combine peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and salt.
4. Stir over medium heat until smooth.
5. Remove from stove. Pour dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly.
6. Pour mixture into a 9x13 baking pan.
7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
8. Cool completely and cut into 16 bars.

Nutritional Information:

• 568 calories
• 39 grams fat
• 15 grams protein

http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/nutrition/Whitneys-Everything-Energy-Bars.html

I also thought that I would add some information since there seemed to be quite a few people asking particular questions in the comment section of the article:

The articles says how many grams of fat and protein, but what about carbohydrates?
Well, since we have the total number of calories and the grams of fat and protein, we can find the calories from each and then subtract from the total to get calories from carbohydrates which we can then use to get the number of grams. Since a gram of fat is 9 calories and a gram of protein or carbs is 4 calories we end up with: 568cal - 9cal/g * 39g - 15g * 4cal/g = 157cal. Then 157cal / 4cal/g = 39.25g, so in short these homemade bars contain about 39.25 grams of carbohydrates.

These are really high in calories, I don't want to get fat.
Well, these bars are mainly made with the intention of taking them with you when you go out to do an activity like hiking, biking, camping, or something like that where you need a filling snack that can be taken on the go. All of those activities require lots of energy, so you need the nourishment. If you want to try making a low calorie alternative try putting in less peanut butter (which is where most of the calories come from) and chocolate chips and replacing it with granola. If you find that you are lacking the sticky texture I've always found bananas are a healthy way to add a nice texture to blended foods.

 

[happyflowerlady]

Those energy bars do look really good! I have made my own granola before, but never tried making energy bars. I have made breakfast cookies or muffins with many of the same ingredients in them though. I get the flax and coconut flakes from amazon, and use a whole wheat flour and rolled mixed grains oatmeal. They are a good way to enjoy morning coffee with something tasty, and still not be eating a pastry like a cinnamon roll or something of that nature along with the breakfast coffee. I think that these could be used when traveling, out fishing for the day, trail riding, and many other activities, as well as along with morning breakfast coffee.

Thank you for adding the recipe!

 

[campforums]

Those energy bars do look really good! I have made my own granola before, but never tried making energy bars. I have made breakfast cookies or muffins with many of the same ingredients in them though. I get the flax and coconut flakes from amazon, and use a whole wheat flour and rolled mixed grains oatmeal. They are a good way to enjoy morning coffee with something tasty, and still not be eating a pastry like a cinnamon roll or something of that nature along with the breakfast coffee. I think that these could be used when traveling, out fishing for the day, trail riding, and many other activities, as well as along with morning breakfast coffee.

Thank you for adding the recipe!

They are great for taking along during all those activities you mentioned! Making your own stuff is great because a lot of the packaged/store bought snacks aren't as healthy as homemade ones because of all the extra sugar and preservatives they need to stay fresh. You can control exactly what goes into your own food though.

If you have made your own granola before then this really isn't much more difficult. I made my own bars before which was with a slightly different recipe but basically the same process. Once you've mixed it all together the batter is pretty thick so you just clump it together into bar shapes and lay it on a pan for baking so that it gets nice and crispy.

 

[MacGyver]

568cal - 9cal/g * 39g - 15g * 4cal/g = 157cal. Then 157cal / 4cal/g = 39.25g

They sounded great. But I don't like trigoalgecalculus in my energy bars.

 

[JessiFox]

Ohh that sounds excellent! That'd be great in other situations, too thank you for sharing. Too much junk in a lot of the storebought ones.

They sounded great. But I don't like trigoalgecalculus in my energy bars.

Hahah well there's always that