It’s always a good day when the delightful Rebecca Peters-Golden has a guest post for us. As a grad student, Rebecca has perfected the art of eating well on a budget, and today she shares her secret to getting through the semester without blowing the bank on crappy snacks. Enter the homemade protein bar!
When I’m hungry I simply cannot behave sensibly (read: concentrate, converse, be civil to strangers). This makes snacking an absolute necessity. But it gets really expensive to buy food throughout the day, and, for those of us without easy access to anything better than vending machines, the only options seem to be candy bars, chips, or . . . horror of horrors, The Protein Bar.
I mean, look, I dig the occasional Clif Bar, don’t get me wrong; protein bars do keep up energy and distract from gnawing hunger. Still, whenever I eat one, I always find myself fantasizing about something better . . .
So, a few years ago, I decided to take what is good about a protein bar—the nuts for protein, the dried fruit for fiber and taste—and make a bar that would not only fill me up, give me some much-needed energy, and not bankrupt me, but would also be something that I didn’t dread choking down. All you need to make your own energy bars is a food processor and an oven, and they can be made, cooked, and conveniently packaged in an hour, tops.
After my bars are cooled, I cut them, wrap them individually and stick them in the freezer. I just grab one (or two, depending on the day) every morning and toss it in my bag where it defrosts and keeps until I’m feeling snacky. They also work well as travel snacks, since they keep just fine at room temperature.
The best part about these is that by changing the combination of fruit and nuts each time you make them, you won’t get bored. I suggest two flavor combinations below, but when you make your own, the bulk foods aisle is the limit. You can also add things that fit your own nutritional needs: powdered milk for calcium, flax seeds for omega-3s, etc. You’ll be energized, ready to work, and, as god is my witness, you’ll never lose another quarter in a vending machine again.
Easy Energy Bars
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Makes 12 large bars or 15 small bars
Ingredients:
For a classic fruit/nut bar:
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup wheat germ*
- 1/2 cup wheat flour*
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 3/4 cup dried apricots
- 3/4 cup dried peaches or nectarines
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup honey**
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
For a tropical bar:
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup wheat germ*
- 1/2 cup wheat flour*
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 3/4 cup dried papaya
- 3/4 cup dried pineapple
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey**
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon ginger (powdered or fresh)
* For gluten free bars, substitute 1/2 cup rice bran or almond meal for the wheat germ, and substitute 1/2 cup rice flour + 1 teaspoon xanthan gum for the wheat flour.
** For vegan bars, substitute maple syrup for the honey.
Method:
Preheat oven to 350˚.
In a food processor, mix together all ingredients until they make a dough that is moist and chunky.
Press the dough into a cookie sheet. How thick this layer of dough is determines how thick your bars are, so if you like a thinner, crispier bar, use a larger cookie sheet and a thinner layer. I like a thicker, moister bar, so I use a small cookie sheet and a thicker layer of dough.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (try 15 for thinner bars) or until just golden brown.
Allow to cool completely, then cut into bars of whatever size you prefer. Wrapped in foil, saran wrap, or sandwich bags, these bars will keep in the freezer for about two months or the refrigerator for three weeks.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
the trifecta of yummy, easy, and nutritious! (or the trifecta of portable, attractive, and wont ooze grease into your backpack. also an admirable combination.) happy to see the little lobster lurking at the edge of the plate again, this time no doubt preparing a claw-pump for your suggestion to derive omega-3s from flax seed instead of seafood.
These do sound easy and delicious. A prefect replacement to the pre-packaged ones my husband and I go to for a quick snack. A big bonus is that keep most of these things in my kitchen already!
What a great idea. I, too, get grouchy when my blood sugar’s low, so everyone in my world would be happy if I came up with an alternative like this.
Thanks for this. I’m addicted to Luna Bars followed closely by Kashi bars, then Lara bars and so making my own would not only make sense but it would be a lot cheaper too. Now, if you could work on a Luna or Lara bar replacement recipe for me…
I have a granola bar recipe that is used weekly. I’m adding this to the mix to avoid boredom. Thanks so much.
Looks and sounds fabulous – and what a great way to get away from those awful pre-packaged bars.
Bars like Clif cost the earth in NZ and I should really give this a try for hiking snacks or just for breakfast. Thanks.
I’m going to give this a try today for sure! I’m allergic to peanuts, so we’ll use almond butter instead. Sounds like it would be great for our hectic mornings!
I’m really excited to make these. I’ve been wanting to make granola bars for my son’s class for a long time but the recipe I have (from Mark Bittman), I don’t quite “get.”
I’ll use agave instead of honey. Can you also suggest a variation that uses DRIED FRUIT instead of sweetener?
You are so my hero for offering gluten-free variations. BTW, oats aren’t by default free of gluten, due to cross contamination during processing. But, gluten-free folks would hopefully know that they need to buy GF oats (at least if they’ve done their homework, which I hope they have!).