More-Healthy Energy Bars

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These are great energy bars, with a nice profile of protein, fat, and carbs to provide energy and satiety.  They’re only appropriate for a low-carb diet if you eat them during exercise.  They have better ingredients and better nutrition than most anything you’ll find in the store, since those need to be shelf-stable instead of being nutritious.  Best of all, these are fairly low in sugar while still being quite tasty and they should have a fairly nice glycemic profile for energy both now and later.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1/4 c chia

1/2 c hemp seed hearts

1/4 c flax seeds

 

2 c “old-fashioned” oats

1/2 c coconut oil

 

1 c raisins

 

2 c pecans

1 c sunflower seeds (raw)

1 c pumpkin seeds (raw)

1 c cashews (raw)

1 c almonds (raw)

 

1 package silken tofu

2 T Kidsweet (or 4 T sugar)

3/4 t sea salt

1/2 t NuSalt

1/2 c honey

 

Method:

  1. In food processor, finely grind chia, hemp, and flax to a powder.  Set aside.
  2.  Toast all nuts and seeds in the oven at 350*F.   Pecans (usually not raw) take about 25 minutes, the rest about half an hour.  Allow to cool.
  3. Coarsely grind pumpkin and sunflower seeds, set aside.  Grind pecans, set aside.  Grind almonds and cashews.  (a large/powerful food processor might be able to handle them all at once).
  4. Drain tofu then mix it with the Kidsweet, honey, and salts.
  5.  Heat coconut oil in a pot, then add oats.  Stir until light brown and toasted.
  6.  Slowly combine all ingredients in food processor with one cup of water.  For a standard  power food processor, it’s probably two batches, with half of each step’s ingredients at a time.  For  a smoother texture bar, process longer.
  7.  Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and pour mixture (nearly a paste now) out onto parchment and spread evenly.  Bake at 350* for 40-50 minutes, until the top is becoming golden brown (the very edges will likely be dark).
  8.  Cool for a few minutes and cut into bars while still hot.  Remove parchment from pan and place directly on cooling rack.  Cool and package.

Yield: 20 bars.

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Keep bars refrigerated until the day you’re going to use them.   For easy transport, wrap like a gift in wax paper and close with a small piece of masking tape.

 

 

 

 

 

Nutrition data (via MyFitnessPal):

Calories: 561

Carbs: 30g

Fat: 46g

Protein: 16g

Sugars: 8g

Sodium: 75mg