A Bar for the Road

I occasionally find myself in need of a nutrition bar: when I am a little farther away from home for a workout, or when I have to run errands before I return to breakfast, or when I just simply have to eat something NOW!  I find it difficult to eat early in the morning so I typically don’t before I workout; consequently, I find myself hungry fairly soon after I’m done.

I searched for commercial bars which offered a little higher protein (challenging) and tried quite a few (urghhh!).  Then I found a recipe in Anita Bean’s The Vegetarian Athlete’s Cookbook, which looked simple & delicious, except that it took three attempts too get it right (1st time: too sticky, 2nd time: didn’t bind, 3rd time: success!).  Moral of the story: don’t modify a recipe until you’ve tried it as is at least once as is!

It does taste wonderful (Loving Husband approves!) and transports well. According to Anita Bean who is a nutritionist & athlete:  “these bars provide the perfect combination of protein, carbohydrate, unsaturated fats and antioxidants that you need for rapid recovery after training.  They’re very moreish – so be warned!”

Recovery Bars

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup peanut butter (or any nut butter; I used peanut butter)
• 1 cup nuts, coarsely chopped (used walnuts this time)
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 Tbsp ground flax, or pumpkin seeds, or chia seeds (used chia)
• 2/3 cup dried mixed fruit, coarsely chopped (used cranberries & cherries)

1. Put maple syrup & peanut butter in a small saucepan and heat gently until melted.
2. In a large bowl, mix together nuts, oats, seeds and dried fruit.
3. Stir in the maple syrup/peanut butter mixture, and combine well.
4. Press evenly and firmly into a 7 by 7 inch lined baking tray.
5. Chill until set.
6. Cut into 12 bars (I cut mine into 16 because I find her portions too large).

Note: If you cut into 12 bars, each bar will give you approximately 283 calories, 10g protein, 17g fat, 20g carbs (11g total sugars), 4g fibre