In our new Siroko’s cycling food blog post we are going to explain how to make 3 types of energy bars at home. The first one is perfect for crunchy snacks’ lovers and doesn’t require an oven, so it’s quite simple. The next one is even easier, it doesn’t require an oven either and only takes three ingredients. We will conclude with a recipe that is very different from the previous two. No oatmeal, baking required and the result is a bar halfway between a sweet bread and a moist sponge cake. Yummy!
Crunchy chocolate energy bars
They may not be the healthiest energy bars we have ever made, but they are certainly the crunchiest and some of the easiest ones to make. They need no baking time plus they use simple ingredients that can be substituted with others if you don’t have them at home. A word of advice: depending on the type of chocolate you use, be careful on hot days because the more sugar and cocoa butter it has, the easier it melts. Dark or plain chocolate contains less sugar and more cocoa paste, so it takes longer to melt.
Ingredients:
- 190 g of peanut butter (¾ Cup).You can also use tahini, regular butter or other nut butter.
- 53 g of chocolate (⅓ Cup). Whichever you like best. We’re using 74% cocoa dark chocolate.
- 115 g of honey (⅓ Cup). Any other sweetener will also do. Even sugar works if you dissolve it in a bit of water. You’ll need ⅓ cup of water and 1 ⅓ cups of sugar.
- 5 g of unsweetened fat free cocoa powder (1 Tablespoons).
- 150 g of toasted rolled oats (1 ⅔ Cups).
- 150 g of granola or crunchy muesli (1 ⅓ Cups).
- 80 g of whole grain cereals (2 Cups).
You can use other types of your favourite cereals (corn flakes, bran sticks, bran flakes, muesli…) as well as chopped or sliced nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts…). Just make sure you stick to the total weight of the three types of cereal, about 380-400 grams altogether.
Preparation:
Line a large glass baking pan or tupperware dish with baking paper. We’re using a 20 x 28 cm (8 x 11 inches) size. You can use a similar size; in a smaller dish the bars will be thicker, in a larger one they would be too thin.
In a large bowl mix the oats, granola and whole grain cereals.
Melt the chocolate over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the peanut butter and honey if necessary. As soon as everything is melted, take the saucepan off the heat, add the tablespoon of fat free cocoa and mix well. Pour the mixture into the bowl and stir until combined.
Pour the mixture into the dish and spread it evenly. Take a piece of baking paper the size of the dish and place it on top of the mixture. Press the mixture with your hands to make it more compact. Place another similar-sized dish on the same baking paper and place weights on top of it (food cans or jars, milk cartons).
Put the dish in the fridge overnight or for about 6-8 hours. After this time, take it out of the fridge and cut to your liking. You will get about 12 bars.
Nutrition information
Each serving has 261 calories, 10.7 g of fat, 30.8 g of carbohydrates and 8.2 g of protein.
Extra-easy no-bake muesli bars
This recipe is going to be as simple as it gets because you will only need honey, peanut butter and a muesli bag of your choice. With nuts and seeds, with dried fruits, with chocolate…whatever tickles your fancy.
Ingredients:
- 280 g of muesli (3 cups).
- 115 g of honey (⅓ cup).
- 85 g of peanut butter (⅓ cup).
Preparation:
Grease a 20 x 15 cm (8 x 6 inch) tupperware dish with oil or nonstick spray. You can also use a baking pan, but tupperware works best as you can store the bars in the fridge using the same container.
Mix the honey and peanut butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir constantly until well blended. It shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes.
Take it off the heat and add the muesli. Mix everything well.
Pour the mixture into the tupperware container. Spread evenly and press down firmly with your hands. Place the container in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for 6-8 hours.
After this time, take it out and cut into 8 slices. Store the bars in the fridge and enjoy whenever you need.
Nutrition information
We have chosen muesli with 50% nuts (almonds, pecans, hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds) and dried fruits (dates, pineapple, coconut, papaya and banana). Using such muesli, each serving has 238 calories, 8 g of fat, 33.5 g of carbohydrates and 5 g of protein.
Orange, cinnamon and walnut bars
Admittedly, we use oatmeal in almost every recipe and it’s not everyone’s cereal of choice. No problem, we are not using it in this recipe, offering an alternative for those who want to try something different. These bars are very soft, similar to a moist sponge cake with an intense orange flavor and the crunchiness of walnuts.
Ingredients:
- 350 g of whole wheat flour (2 ½ cups). It can also be regular flour.
- 100 g of chopped walnuts (1 cup). Pistachios also pair well with orange.
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Ginger is another option.
- 180 ml of orange juice (¾ cup)
- 1 teaspoon of orange zest
- 175 g of chopped candied orange peel (1 cup). If you can’t find it, use dates or dried figs.
- 1 large beaten egg
- 115 g of honey (⅓ cup)
- 65 g of peanut butter (¼ cup)
Preparation:
Grease a 20 x 28 cm (8 x 11 inches) baking pan with oil or nonstick spray. You can use a larger or a smaller one, but keep in mind that the baking time will be slightly shorter in a larger one and slightly longer in a smaller one. Set the baking pan aside.
Preheat the oven to 180º C (350º F).
Dry ingredients first. In a large bowl mix the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and chopped walnuts. Mix well with a wooden or plastic spoon. Set aside.
Time for the wet ingredients. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and honey over low heat for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat. Add the orange juice, the zest, the candied orange and the previously beaten egg. Mix everything well with a whisk.
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until you get a smooth and compact dough.
Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly without pressing too hard. Bake at 180º C (350º F) for 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Take the mold out of the oven and let it cool completely. When cooled, cut into 12 portions.
Nutrition information
Each serving has 255 calories, 9 g of fat, 35 g of carbohydrates and 7.5 g of protein.
I have made all three recipes and each is excellent for my cycling snacks. One question: do you intend a natural peanut butter or a blended, sweetened, no-stir peanut butter? Also, for toasting oats, I did mine in the oven, but maybe could have done them longer. Any tips there?
Hello Gordon,
Thank you for your feedback. We use natural peanut butter, blended but no sugar. If you like to toast the oats you can toast them in the oven or in the pan. The bars will be crunchier and a little harder to chew because the oats won’t absorb all the wet ingredients like raw oats, but they will have more flavor. With 10-15 minutes of toasting is enough, but it depends on how you like it. More toasting = more flavor = less absorption.
Best
Siroko