Carla's Home Made Energy Bars
Did you know that you can make your own energy bars! A few months ago, I started making homemade energy bars. I wanted the ingredients in my bars to consist solely of super-foods, without additives, fillers, artificial colors, flavors, etc. I did some research, played around with different ingredients, and Presto!
These bars are easy to make. Share them with your family, knowing you’re giving them something healthful and natural. And tasty too!
Carla’s Energy Bars are loaded with nutritionally dense superfoods, packed with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, brain boosters, Omega-3 fatty acids, and much more!
Carla's Home Made Energy Bars Recipe
Wet Ingredients
¼ to ½ c. of almond butter and/or peanut butter
1 to ½ T. honey
Dry Ingredients
½ c. oats, Granola or other high-fiber cereal that you like
½ c. walnuts
¼ c. almonds
2 T. brown flax seeds
2 T. Chia seeds
½ c. dates and/or other dried fruit of your choosing
Instructions
In a small saucepan mix wet ingredients on low heat until melted. Set aside. Using a food processor (in lieu of a food processor a mixing bowl will do) process all wet and dry ingredients together, slowly adding a few teaspoons of water to the mixture, until you have a sticky, pasty batter.
Flatten, press, and roll out the batter onto parchment paper. Cut batter into whatever thickness and shapes you like, and place them in the freezer. My favorite bars are about ½ inch thick and shaped into little rectangles. After a few hours, your bars will be ready to cut and EAT! They taste best straight out of the fridge/freezer.
Add or substitute Maca powder, other seeds or nuts, cacao nibs, yogurt chips, and/or Goji berries, for a flavorful variety, to do it your way!
Check out how wonderful and nutritious these bars are:
Chia Seeds are a dieter’s dream come true. These tiny seeds are packed with fiber, Omega-3 fatty acids, complete proteins, age-defying anti-oxidants, and many minerals, including, iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Chia seeds will keep you feeling full for hours. When chia seeds are exposed to water, they develop a gelatinous texture, increasing their size and weight, making you feel full. This gelling action, combined with the seed’s soluble and
insoluble fiber, also acts to slow down your body’s conversion of starches into sugars, leaving you with constant and steady energy throughout your day. Chia seeds magnify taste too. When these seeds hydrate, they magnify the taste of whatever food they are added to. Put them in a fruity smoothie, and they taste fruity, add them to chocolate pudding, chocolaty flavor!
Maca Powder comes from the nutty flavored Maca root, indigenous to Peru. Maca contains high amounts of minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and all the essential amino acids. Maca is loaded with B-vitamins, including B-12, which will give you a boost of energy. Maca also helps balance and regulate hormones, and can help with PMS, menopause, and hot flashes. Maca has been known to improve libido and sexual dysfunction, especially in men, and so, earned it’s nickname, “nature’s Viagra.”
Walnuts symbolize intellectuality! Haven’t you noticed how walnuts resemble little brains? The high concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts are great for brain health, and these fatty acids, along with the unsaturated “good” fats in walnuts, also help depression, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Walnuts can also help reduce stress, by lowering blood pressure. Studies also show walnuts are “sperm boosters.” If you are trying to become a father, eat a handful of walnuts a day, and you may just get your wish!
Cacao Nibs: Dr. Oz says, “If you are looking to lower your blood pressure or boost your mood, a bite of dark chocolate may be your perfect answer.” The ancient people of Central America, the Mayans and Aztecs, believed the cocoa plant could impart immortality.
Cacao contains more flavonoids, a type of antioxidant, than any other food. These antioxidants help protect against free radical damage, may help reduce blood pressure, and improve mood, by stimulating the release of endorphins and serotonin.
Flax Seeds: Flax seeds are a terrific source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Flax seeds protect the heart by thinning the blood and lowering levels of triglycerides (fat in the blood or “bad” cholesterol). Flax seeds are known to help with PMS symptoms too, and help lower breast cancer, because of their rich source of lignans – compounds that alter the way the body handles estrogen.
Honey: “A spoonful of honey makes the medicine go down.” Moms have been giving sick children honey for years, to help them swallow icky-tasting medicines, but more recently, the honey itself is administered AS the medicine. Honey contains powerful antioxidants, enzymes, and vitamins with anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties that help soothe sore throats, ease coughing and eliminate allergies. Honey’s anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties also help strengthen the immune system. Its anti-fungal properties are a remedy for skin wounds and skin infections.
Oats: According to the USDA, one cup of oats has no cholesterol, no salt and very low saturated fat. Oats provide calcium, 41% iron and 26% protein. Oats are a “good source” of vitamins and minerals, dietary fiber, thiamin, magnesium phosphorus and manganese.
Enjoy these bars daily. You’ll feel good about yourself knowing you are treating your body right!
Learn also how to make my Cacao-Maca Balls (seen in the photo left) next, in a blog coming to you soon!