Energy Bars

The following recipe was taken from Les Mills and then edited a little to create what I believe is one of the best on the go snacks!  We all have those times during the day when our blood sugar drops, and we are looking for something to "snack" on.  Many times, at work if we have not prepared properly the only option we have is something unhealthy.  The following recipe takes about 30 minutes of prep time and then about 20 minutes to cook, but once it is created you have a batch of healthy snacks for about a week.  There is no refined sugar and they are gluten free.  This snack is perfect for that time before or after lunch where you just need a little something to keep you going until you can have your next healthy meal. I have made these every week for the last month and my husband has even started to take them to work.  I will give you the recipe below, and I will also give you some options about how you can change a few things to make your bars exactly the way you would like!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut (divided)
1/4 cup of almond butter (or really any type of nut butter that you like)
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/4 cup of almond flour
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
2 tbsp of raw honey
1/2 cup whey protein (vanilla or chocolate flavor, Nirto Pro is a good option!)
1 large egg plus 2 tbsp of egg white
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1/2 cup dried blueberries, or cranberries, or dark chocolate chips (or all of them!)
8x8 pyrex baking dish
Parchment paper

First step is to preheat the oven to 325 and toast the nuts.  I use a baking pan and spread the almonds, pecans, walnuts, and 1/4 cup of the coconut out onto the pan.  Place them in the oven for about 10 minutes.  I wait until the white coconut begins to brown and then I remove.  Make sure you also shake the pan of nuts about half way through the cooking process. Remove the nuts and allow to cool for a few minutes.

 While the nuts are toasting and cooling I begin the next process of mixing the almond butter and the coconut oil.  Place it into a microwave safe container and heat for about 15 to 20 seconds in order to get it warm.  If you are planning to add dark chocolate, this will ensure the chocolate melts into the mixture.

While warm, mix in the dark chocolate chips.

Once mixed up it will look like what you see below.  Now go ahead and add in the vanilla, honey, and sea salt.

Sit the mixture above to the side and head back to your toasted nuts.  Place the nuts into a food processor and pulse until you get a nice rough chop.

Then take the nut mixture and fold it into your almond butter mixture.

Now add in your almond flour and your protein powder.  I have used both the Les Mills Vanilla and the Nitro Pro Chocolate from Win Win Nutrition on my last blog.  It depends on the level of chocolate flavor that you like.

As you can see the mixture begins to look crumbly.  The next step will add he moisture.

Now, add in your whole egg and two tbsp of egg white.  This is another place I changed the recipe. When I first created this, the mixture was very crumbly and when I made the bars it was very hard to cut them out without them falling apart.  When I added the egg white it made it have more of a soft brownie consistency and held the bar formation much better.  I have also played with the amount of egg white and 2 tbsp seems to be perfect!

Now you can fold in those blueberries or cranberries as you can see below.

Next you are going to need your 8x8 pyrex dish.  Another thing I found was how difficult it was to get the mixture to keep from breaking as I got the first few bars out, so I added the parchment paper. It makes removal of the bars so much easier and a lot less messy.  Line your 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and press the mixture into the pan.  You are going to bake them on 325 for about 20 minutes, sprinkle the remaining coconut onto the top for the last 5 minutes of baking.  The reason I don't put the coconut on immediately is because I don't want it to burn.  After 20 minutes, just remove from the oven and sit the pan out to cool and set up for another 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes I removed the mixture by picking up the edges of the parchment paper and placed it on a cutting board.  I allowed it to sit there for probably another 10 minutes just to be on the safe side.

I first began by cutting the bars into large fourths.

Then I cut each fourth into 3 bars.  So by the time you are finished you should have 12 servings! Place them in an air tight container, take one as a snack or have as a quick breakfast when you don't have time!  They are very filling and very satisfying!

Based on my calculations of adding both chocolate AND blueberries these bars are about 262 calories!  They have 12 grams of carbs, 8 grams of protein.  They are perfect for a healthy snack and all natural.

Some of the things I have found helpful:

1.  I purchase large bags of nuts in bulk from Costco.  It's an expensive trip the first time, but you can make many batches with the amount you get.  Plus it's just cheaper than the grocery store prices of the small bags.

2.  I added the egg white to hold the mixture together better.  If you prefer a bar that is more crumbly then feel free to eliminate the egg white.  I just prefer mine to hold together.

3.  I also changed the amount of honey from the original recipe to 2 tbsp because I was trying to keep my mixture together and the amount that was used did not stick the bars together well.  Feel free to experiment.

4.  In one of my previous recipes I used some Maranatha Dark Chocolate almond spread.  Instead of chips the last time I created this, I added in about 1/8 of a cup of this spread to the almond butter mixture and they still turned out great so feel free to experiment.

5.  If you really like chocolate, feel free to add about 1 TBSP of cocoa to your mixture as well.

6.  Remember, if you are local to the Buford, GA area run by Win Win Nutrition to get your Nitro Protein.  Ask for Beverly and tell her you want Tia's top shelf!  http://www.wwnsupplements.com/


Enjoy and Happy Healthy Eating! Namaste!