Homemade Energy Bars

Homemade Energy Bars

by Cherise Mazur 

*This is an updated version from my original post

Protein bars!  We all love the convenience of them,m right?!  In a hurry and need something portable for on the go - protein bar to the rescue! Right?!

I will say that during my fitness journey I have learned to read the ingredient lists in pretty much everything – so as I started to really look into what was in these convenient bars I started to question what I was really putting into my body.

I try to stay away from soy, sucrose & anything I cannot pronounce.  I was into a certain protein bar kick for a while with only eating 2 flavors that didn’t have sucrose in them. Then I saw ‘corn fiber’ listed on the infamous pumpkin bar..huh? So I did a little research and found out that it is basically corn syrup that is a GMO (insert frown emoji)

Ok so now what?!  Well, I decided to search and make my own homemade energy bars.  I wrap them individually myself for my own convenience too!

They are not perfect like the commercial packaging from the big name brands but I can pronounce all the ingredients and I have most of them already in my pantry (peanut butter, oats, honey & vanilla extract to start!)  Plus I love the fact that I made them in my kitchen so I know exactly what is going in them.

(Great snacks for the kids too as my son ate one right away!)

You can always swap out the peanut butter for any nut butter too!

In this recipe I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats, Wild Friends chocolate coconut peanut butter (yummy!) and Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips as these are dairy, gluten and soy free)

 All you need to do it combine all the ingredients together and mix them well.  Once mixed, add to a 9×13 pan and put in the freezer for about an hour to set.

Then cut into bar size pieces (I got 16 bars).  I wrapped them in saran wrap and put them in the fridge.  Voila!  Perfect convenient snack on the go! These also freeze well! 

In this updated version I added in 1 tbs of hemps seeds and sprinkled the top of them with cinnamon - definitely a step up in taste!  

Healthy Hommade Energy Bars
Recipe here

Ingredients:

-2 cups dry oatmeal

-1 1/3 cups coconut flakes

-1 cup peanut butter (or any favorite nut butter)

-1 cup flax seeds (or chia seeds)
-1 tbs hemp seeds (optional)

-3/4 cup chocolate chips

-2/3 cup raw honey

-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
sprinkle of cinnamon on top

Instructions:

-Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well

-Spread mixture firmly and evenly into a 9×13 pan

-Place in freezer for about 1 hour

-Slice into 16 bars

-Wrap individually or place in an air tight container for up to a week in the refrigerator

*recipe adapted from www.cleanfoodcrush.com