Home made energy bars and granola bars?

skerry

Bit of a Darina Allen one here. I've been trying to round up some good recipe's for bars and the likes to be eating while out on the bike. I remember someone posted a recipe for bars here ages ago but I couldn't find it when I searched. Just wondering if anyone has any good recipes for energy bars or homemade granola bars. I made the ones in the link below and they turned out OK if anyone is interested in giving them a whack, kinda Elevenses bar type thing although not as dense and a bit easier to get down on the bike (I thought anyway). Also, do people find the the Elevenses/ cake type bars better for on the bike than granola type bars. Be interested to hear opinions and any recipes, I'll be awaiting with rolling pin in hand.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/michaels-energy-bars-recipe/index.html

QueensGael

Here's my mother's recipe - I made a few batches recently, and they turned out great, been scoffing them on my training spins the last few weekends! Sadly, Mamma is not a cyclist, and hence doesn't use the metric system, so apologies in advance for the oz and F. The last line is an actual instruction from her

Oatmeal Bars

6oz porridge oats
2oz plain flour
4oz soft brown sugar
4oz butter
2 tablesps. golden syrup
5oz cooking chocolate

Combine oats flour and sugar. Melt butter and syrup together and pour over dry ingred. Mix well and press into greased tin. Bake 350Fdeg. for 20 - 25 mts. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Melt chocolate and pour over, then cut into squares after the chocolate has hardened a little. Then eat them all up.

Caroline_ie

I have made some a couple of times in January. I used condensed milk like Nigella would do, no butter syrup etc. Mines were made with oats, piscacchio, sunflower seeds dried cranberries and dates. they were really good.
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/breakfast-bars-55

skerry

QueensGael wrote: »

Here's my mother's recipe - I made a few batches recently, and they turned out great, been scoffing them on my training spins the last few weekends! Sadly, Mamma is not a cyclist, and hence doesn't use the metric system, so apologies in advance for the oz and F. The last line is an actual instruction from her

Oatmeal Bars

6oz porridge oats
2oz plain flour
4oz soft brown sugar
4oz butter
2 tablesps. golden syrup
5oz cooking chocolate

Combine oats flour and sugar. Melt butter and syrup together and pour over dry ingred. Mix well and press into greased tin. Bake 350Fdeg. for 20 - 25 mts. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Melt chocolate and pour over, then cut into squares after the chocolate has hardened a little. Then eat them all up.

I'm liking this one, sounds like a good old timely recipe. Looks nice and handy too. Similar ingredients to the link I posted, but with chocolate.

I'll be trying both these and Nigella's ones in the coming weeks. Elevenses bars are good but probably make as good yourself for half the price. Cheers guys.

Is it a bad thing that only females have replied so far. Keep em coming anyway.

Holyboy

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I have made some a couple of times in January. I used condensed milk like Nigella would do, no butter syrup etc. Mines were made with oats, piscacchio, sunflower seeds dried cranberries and dates. they were really good.
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/breakfast-bars-55

I shall be expecting a few when you next visit the cave, they sound yummy

fat bloke

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I have made some a couple of times in January. I used condensed milk like Nigella would do, no butter syrup etc. Mines were made with oats, piscacchio, sunflower seeds dried cranberries and dates. they were really good.
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/breakfast-bars-55

Just an update to this. I tried the recipe as written and it was sh1t. They were way too... gnawing.

So I've made them a couple of times since with some alterations. Same amount of porridge, but the rest made up with much much more dried fruit, and I also added a good healthy dollop or two, like maybe 4 tablespoons, of honey to the mix. And I've cut the oven time down to about 45 minutes. Makes them much softer and chewer, and they seem to keep that soft chewiness, rather than going rock hard like the original lot.

I also substituted some of the dry nutty ingredients for one of those milled linseed/etc Omega 3 cereal topping mix things that Aldi/Lidl do. Nice way of introducing some of that to your diet.

So, on top of the porridge, Nigella has about 425 grams of stuff, 125 of which is fruit. I've weighted that balance way-hey in favour of the fruit. Maybe 75-100g mixed nuts, 75-100g of that seedy stuff, and then the rest was raisins/sultanas/dried cranberries/dried apricots etc.

Just pulled a batch outta the oven now and they're nice. Needs the honey too.

skerry

fat bloke wrote: »

Just an update to this. I tried the recipe as written and it was sh1t. They were way too... gnawing.

So I've made them a couple of times since with some alterations. Same amount of porridge, but the rest made up with much much more dried fruit, and I also added a good healthy dollop or two, like maybe 4 tablespoons, of honey to the mix. And I've cut the oven time down to about 45 minutes. Makes them much softer and chewer, and they seem to keep that soft chewiness, rather than going rock hard like the original lot.

I also substituted some of the dry nutty ingredients for one of those milled linseed/etc Omega 3 cereal topping mix things that Aldi/Lidl do. Nice way of introducing some of that to your diet.

So, on top of the porridge, Nigella has about 425 grams of stuff, 125 of which is fruit. I've weighted that balance way-hey in favour of the fruit. Maybe 75-100g mixed nuts, 75-100g of that seedy stuff, and then the rest was raisins/sultanas/dried cranberries/dried apricots etc.

Just pulled a batch outta the oven now and they're nice. Needs the honey too.

Might give them a try this weekend. Sounds promising. Tried QueensGael's recipe myself, came out grand but think I might have left them in a few minutes too long as they were a bit hard. Good to munch on when your stopped up but a bit of work to get down while on the bike, might try adding some dried fruit to them next time.

thebouldwhacker

There was a vid about the forum a year or so ago showing a chef to the pro's making a rice snack which looked really nice.
I had a look but failed to find it...

Lucifer-0

Here's a recipe I used a few times, they're yum - http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreesnackrecipes/r/glutenfreeenergybars.htm

Peterx

http://www.davidgillick.com/gilly-bars.html

ednwireland

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

There was a vid about the forum a year or so ago showing a chef to the pro's making a rice snack which looked really nice.
I had a look but failed to find it...

allen lim's rice cakes ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UiuqIWGe_s

although i dont ink i'd put bacon in them

http://lavamagazine.com/training/recipe-allen-lims-rice-cakes/#axzz1pAmyxWzj

Lumen

ednwireland wrote: »

although i dont ink i'd put bacon in them

Eating pig makes us go faster. FACT!

doozerie

I've not tried these but they don't look bad and I appreciate the nutritional comparison against some of the commercial bars. What puts me off making them though is that they don't have a long shelf life and commercial bars are much more convenient from that point of view - yes, I could make a smaller mix and produce less bars but that would require some maths to reduce the volumes of ingredients and I can't afford the calories to fuel that effort

For the real hardcore nutritional DIY-er, what about home made energy gels...

Re the Allen Lim rice cakes, I've read a few references online to those being a potential food poisoning risk if heated in your back pocket for a while before being eaten (one claim I read was that the pros avoid this by being handed them straight from a cool box in the team car shortly before eating them). I imagine it's hard to gauge the real risk, and any heat-based risks simply might not arise in Irish weather anyway, but it's something to consider for any food that you carry.

granda

here's my recipe, all the ingrediants are bought in aldi
pack of dried seeds
pack of trail mix or dried fruit
honey
jam
oats
optional is protein powder
just mix it up till its quite thick and gooey
put the mix in a baking tin and then in the oven for about half an hour on a low heat
remove let it cool and cut into bars and wrap in baking parchment and freeze till you need them

ednwireland

doozerie wrote: »

Re the Allen Lim rice cakes, I've read a few references online to those being a potential food poisoning risk if heated in your back pocket for a while before being eaten (one claim I read was that the pros avoid this by being handed them straight from a cool box in the team car shortly before eating them). I imagine it's hard to gauge the real risk, and any heat-based risks simply might not arise in Irish weather anyway, but it's something to consider for any food that you carry.

no prob i'll just put em in the team car

fat bloke

Freezing em is a good idea cos by the time you need to eat them, an hour into your spin, they'll be ass-defrosted.

Wrt convenience, it's great to throw them in after dinner, say you had the oven on for a chicken or some fish or something, instead of just switching it off and letting if cool, reduce to heat to 130, mix the stuff together, bung it in the oven and 45-60 minutes later you have a decent batch.

I find myself munching on a couple for breakfast or bringing them with me for lunch as well so they don't go to waste.

smacl

doozerie wrote: »

I imagine it's hard to gauge the real risk, and any heat-based risks simply might not arise in Irish weather anyway, but it's something to consider for any food that you carry.

I had a bottle of high-5 get a bit lively on me last summer, and thinking about it, bacteria from the mouth mixed in with a sugary solution is an effective enough way to get a brew going. These days I sterilise the bottles, and particularly the valves, before and after a long spin.

For anyone wanting to lose a lot of weight quickly, and in a dramatic fashion, stale High-5 is the way to go.

skerry

fat bloke wrote: »

Just an update to this. I tried the recipe as written and it was sh1t. They were way too... gnawing.

So I've made them a couple of times since with some alterations. Same amount of porridge, but the rest made up with much much more dried fruit, and I also added a good healthy dollop or two, like maybe 4 tablespoons, of honey to the mix. And I've cut the oven time down to about 45 minutes. Makes them much softer and chewer, and they seem to keep that soft chewiness, rather than going rock hard like the original lot.

I also substituted some of the dry nutty ingredients for one of those milled linseed/etc Omega 3 cereal topping mix things that Aldi/Lidl do. Nice way of introducing some of that to your diet.

So, on top of the porridge, Nigella has about 425 grams of stuff, 125 of which is fruit. I've weighted that balance way-hey in favour of the fruit. Maybe 75-100g mixed nuts, 75-100g of that seedy stuff, and then the rest was raisins/sultanas/dried cranberries/dried apricots etc.

Just pulled a batch outta the oven now and they're nice. Needs the honey too.

Made up a batch of these as per the changes above, came out quite nice. Can't say I made the original recipe but the fruit really makes them. Put them in for 45 min, thinking I might even take that down another bit to add a bit more chewiness. Had two long spins this weekend and they went down really well. I'm presuming they're OK to freeze and use as needed, have enough to keep me going for weeks.

feck sake lads

probably the worst cook /baker on the planet so my tip of the day
buy a fruit cake.cut into generous slabs wrap and eat when hungry

Four of a kind

Peterx wrote: »

http://www.davidgillick.com/gilly-bars.html

In the process of making these.

2 Wheels Good

Make these when I'm in my healthy phase, nice and filling!
http://www.odlums.ie/index.php?page=healthy-breakfast-bars

Ingredients below, nice thing is you can mix and match
the fruits if you prefer others/have nothing else in the
cupboard

300g/11oz Odlums Harvest Fruit Porridge
1x 397g Tin Condensed Milk
125g/4oz Shamrock Raisins
100g Packet Shamrock Flaked Almonds
100g Packet Dried Cranberries or Blueberries
75g/3oz Shamrock Desiccated Coconut
2 tablespoons Linseeds

cdaly_

granda wrote: »

here's my recipe, all the ingrediants are bought in aldi
pack of dried seeds
pack of trail mix or dried fruit
honey
jam
oats
optional is protein powder
just mix it up till its quite thick and gooey
put the mix in a baking tin and then in the oven for about half an hour on a low heat
remove let it cool and cut into bars and wrap in baking parchment and freeze till you need them

Tried them, they're very nice. I left out the oats though. Must add cranberries...

Four of a kind

Peterx wrote: »

http://www.davidgillick.com/gilly-bars.html

Made these last night a really like them. Very rich in taste and equally as filling. Got 16 decent sized bars from the batch, which will last me a decent time when I tin foil them up and freeze them.

Added a few prunes to the mix and that's all the deviation I did from the instructions.

Four of a kind

Peterx wrote: »

http://www.davidgillick.com/gilly-bars.html

love these so I do.

Wondering how long these keep once frozen??

sea_monkey

i enjoy these, probably cause i love peanut butter

16 ounces Natural peanut butter
8 tablespoons honey
six scoops of Optimum Chocolate whey protein powder
1 cup of uncooked oatmeal

Mix the pb and honey in a bowl, microwave on full for 80 secs. Add the rest and mix together. Can add raisins/nuts etc to taste. Smooth into 13x9 tray and leave for 20 mins. Cut into 10 to 12 equal bars and wrap and store in fridge.

This is a great tasting recipe that I modified from one I found on 'bolex

Now here is the breakdown on a batch of the goodies:

Protein: 254 grams
Carbohydrates: 282 grams
Fats: 236 grams

colm_gti

fat bloke wrote: »

Just an update to this. I tried the recipe as written and it was sh1t. They were way too... gnawing.

So I've made them a couple of times since with some alterations. Same amount of porridge, but the rest made up with much much more dried fruit, and I also added a good healthy dollop or two, like maybe 4 tablespoons, of honey to the mix. And I've cut the oven time down to about 45 minutes. Makes them much softer and chewer, and they seem to keep that soft chewiness, rather than going rock hard like the original lot.

I also substituted some of the dry nutty ingredients for one of those milled linseed/etc Omega 3 cereal topping mix things that Aldi/Lidl do. Nice way of introducing some of that to your diet.

So, on top of the porridge, Nigella has about 425 grams of stuff, 125 of which is fruit. I've weighted that balance way-hey in favour of the fruit. Maybe 75-100g mixed nuts, 75-100g of that seedy stuff, and then the rest was raisins/sultanas/dried cranberries/dried apricots etc.

Just pulled a batch outta the oven now and they're nice. Needs the honey too.

Just made a batch of these, they're delish! Be tempted to get out on the bike more this week just for the excuse to eat them!

Pablo Rubio

Anyone tried using QUINOA seeds for making bars. Been hearing some rave reviews from some guys I work with ...contains lots of protein and complex carbs.
http://www.organicauthority.com/snacks/quinoa-chia-energy-bars.html
http://www.fannetasticfood.com/recipes/cranberry-quinoa-peanut-butter-power-bars/

I'm gonna give these a go & Hopefully report back next week.

pprendeville

Maybe merge these into a homemade...super thread?
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056219362

pprendeville

doozerie wrote: »

For the real hardcore nutritional DIY-er, what about home made energy gels...

Going to give these a lash. Never thought of them. Any shops in Dublin sell the things the link says holds the gels?

fat bloke

Chr1st PP, best of luck with making them gels, that's hard core. If you find yourself synthesising your own EPO a la breaking bad, then you know you've gone too far....


I just made me tastiest batch of those bar things yet. Problem with launching a batch in the oven and then having a few beers is that you devour half the shaggers while they're still molten and fresh from the oven. I don't think the coconut is my thing. These ones had flaked almonds and some ground hazelnuts (lidl) and then the rest was miscellaneous dried fruit - an apple/apricot/prune (yeah, I'm probably gonna regret that last one) mix from aldi, some raisins, some sultanas, a pot of glace cherries (yum), and about a half a jar of crunchy peanut butter.

Best combo yet. Loadsa sugar in the cherries and salt and protein in the peanut butter, but it also holds them together.... "real nice".

Seve OB

What about Nature Valley Bars. 3 boxes (36 bars) for a fiver at the moment in Dunnes

colm_gti

stevieob wrote: »

What about Nature Valley Bars. 3 boxes (36 bars) for a fiver at the moment in Dunnes

They're awful dry and crunchy, good value though if you like them.

pprendeville

fat bloke wrote: »

Chr1st PP, best of luck with making them gels, that's hard core. If you find yourself synthesising your own EPO a la breaking bad, then you know you've gone too far....


I just made me tastiest batch of those bar things yet. Problem with launching a batch in the oven and then having a few beers is that you devour half the shaggers while they're still molten and fresh from the oven. I don't think the coconut is my thing. These ones had flaked almonds and some ground hazelnuts (lidl) and then the rest was miscellaneous dried fruit - an apple/apricot/prune (yeah, I'm probably gonna regret that last one) mix from aldi, some raisins, some sultanas, a pot of glace cherries (yum), and about a half a jar of crunchy peanut butter.

Best combo yet. Loadsa sugar in the cherries and salt and protein in the peanut butter, but it also holds them together.... "real nice".

have same problem.usually eat 1/2 of them after making them.:D

those bars even cheaper in Tesco there at weekend. picked up 3 boxes. love em. 12 bars (6x2) in normal oat ones but only 10 bars (5x2) in the berry ones and other flavours. Bit sneaky if you ask me.

dastardly00

QueensGael wrote: »

Here's my mother's recipe - I made a few batches recently, and they turned out great, been scoffing them on my training spins the last few weekends! Sadly, Mamma is not a cyclist, and hence doesn't use the metric system, so apologies in advance for the oz and F. The last line is an actual instruction from her

Oatmeal Bars

6oz porridge oats
2oz plain flour
4oz soft brown sugar
4oz butter
2 tablesps. golden syrup
5oz cooking chocolate

Combine oats flour and sugar. Melt butter and syrup together and pour over dry ingred. Mix well and press into greased tin. Bake 350Fdeg. for 20 - 25 mts. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Melt chocolate and pour over, then cut into squares after the chocolate has hardened a little. Then eat them all up.

I made a batch of these last night. Very very tasty. I find them similar to Chocolate Hobnobs!

colm_gti

Having tried loads of variations of these I've found nothing with oats suits me, they're too hard to munch on and breath while moving. Nutrigrains are a bit softer and easier to manage, but fig rolls seem to be on special everywhere at the minute, so I've had a constant batch of them I use for eating on the bike, along with a handful of whatever soft jellies are on special, some energy gels and some lucozade sport in one of my bottles (though I am starting to think there is no need for the lucozade).

Planet X

Yeah, figrolls rock. Did the Raid Pyreneen on three packets of Lidl figrolls. Yes they sponsor me now lol.

Planet X

iirc. Carb. 26grs. per 100grs. No wrapper rage. Straight down the red tunnel.

lochdara

try this for your isotonic - lucoazde sport.
Ive used the drink "Three: Feelin' fruity" but replaced sugar with glucose which i read was better from another thread

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/health_and_fitness/4289704.stm

dvntie

QueensGael wrote: »

Here's my mother's recipe - I made a few batches recently, and they turned out great, been scoffing them on my training spins the last few weekends! Sadly, Mamma is not a cyclist, and hence doesn't use the metric system, so apologies in advance for the oz and F. The last line is an actual instruction from her

Oatmeal Bars

6oz porridge oats
2oz plain flour
4oz soft brown sugar
4oz butter
2 tablesps. golden syrup
5oz cooking chocolate

Combine oats flour and sugar. Melt butter and syrup together and pour over dry ingred. Mix well and press into greased tin. Bake 350Fdeg. for 20 - 25 mts. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Melt chocolate and pour over, then cut into squares after the chocolate has hardened a little. Then eat them all up.

Just made them this evening with a dollop of peanut butter in them and I gotta say yum can't wait to head out tomorrow and see how they fare now
Thanx again to your mum :-)

fat bloke

This has been a great thread for me I must say, I've yet to make two batches the same.

I'm beginning to question the whole point of the exercise though, which was to save some money! My latest batch, just made this evening are fcuking gorgeous, but as I was munching away I did some contemplative maths....

I put in a bag of whole pecan nuts (250g - about a fiver's worth from Superquinn)
A similar bag of whole almonds - I'd say close to 4 quid.
About 5 small bags of dried cranberries, I think they were around 2 quid each in supervalue
A tin of condensed milk - costs about 3.50
Close to a half a squeezy bottle of maple syrup - no idea how much, lets say a euro.
Some porridge oats - no idea how much, I just horsed some in to cement the mix, maybe 2 to 3 cups. - cost negligible.
I also mixed in maybe 80g of melted butter.

Out of that I cut maybe 30 bars, small ones. Maybe the size of two standard matchboxes, or... 1 garmin 500

So, yes they're fricking delicious, but the little shaggers are working out at nearly a bloody euro each!!! :rolleyes:

I'd better see some training benefits over my commercial-consumer processed-powerbar-chewing colleagues :pac:

Ryath

If the point is cost savings you could certainly make them a lot cheaper you have a lot of fruit and are using expensive nuts so can you really compare them with nature valley bars that cost €3 for 6 bars that weigh 252g that are mostly sugar and oats. Your batch must weigh nearly 2kg so it would cost about €25 to buy that many nature valley bars. I'm sure your flapjacks taste a lot better.

Istarted using this recipe as my guide I double the quantities and leave out the chocolate sauce.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/driedcherryandcranbe_88993

Butter 300g
Light brown sugar 160g
Honey 160mls
Porridge Oats 500g
Cranberries/ Cherries rasins etc
100g Nuts Hazel/Walnut/Pecan whatever you fancy

I tend to use what ever dried fruit and nuts I have mostly cranberries and walnuts but I usually use some raisins to make up the weight. For some reason I've never added the coconut must try it next time.
If you wanted to make them as cheaply as possible rasins and almonds are probably the way to go. I find Aldi very good for buying dried fruit and nuts though a 300g bag of mixed fruit is around €2 so they stil are very cheap to make. By my reckoning this makes 1540g of flapjacks at the cost of around €7.50
Heat oven 180C
Melt the butter, honey and sugar in a large saucepan
Add everything else stir till well mixed
I line the baking tray with baking parchment
Pour the mixture into the tray spread out and flatten down well
Bake for 20-25mins and allow to cool then cut out into squares.

My problem is no matter how close to weekend I make them by the time my Sunday spin comes around my wife and two kids have savaged them.
I must try your suggestion of peanut butter in them though might keep them safe from half the family if I put enough in me and my 3 year old love it though so probably would eat even more of them(she literally would eat a jar of it with a spoon if she got the chance.)

pprendeville

The problem with these homemade energy bars I find is that once they're made I have cut them out of the glass container they're made in and I say to myself, I'll just eat the bits that are stuck onto it. Then once they're all out and on a plate I say to myself I'll just have one with a glass of Adare full cream fat milk (nicest milk in the world). Then I go an have another one for good measure and offer one to rest of family to stop myself feeling guilty. Then about an hour later, I pretend I haven't eaten much all day and have another one or two. Before I know it he whole plate is half empty. But they taste great.

dastardly00

@ fat bloke

You can definitely cut down on costs by buying almonds/pecan nuts in Aldi or Lidl along with some of the other ingredients. I buy these flaked almonds in Aldi (€1.99 for a 200g pack), for the version of cereal bars that I make.

fat bloke

dastardly00 wrote: »

@ fat bloke

You can definitely cut down on costs by buying almonds/pecan nuts in Aldi or Lidl along with some of the other ingredients. I buy these flaked almonds in Aldi (€1.99 for a 200g pack), for the version of cereal bars that I make.

I'm going the other way. Pine nuts, truffle shavings and foie gras essence.

Seve OB

pprendeville wrote: »

Then once they're all out and on a plate I say to myself I'll just have one with a glass of Adare full cream fat milk (nicest milk in the world).

As a self professed connoseur of Milk, I have to agree with you here. Ever since Premier done away with their glass bottles with the cream floting to the top, Milk just hasn't been the same, or should I say my Cornflakes haven't been the same!

I have tried Moonshine Milk which was good, but the cream definatley did not float to the top on all the ones I got. Maybe it was because it was only in them horrible plastic 2 litre jugs. I was in Dunnes Cornelscourt and spotted the glass bottle of Adare Milk and knew I had to have it. Unfortunately that was a rare trip out that way and I can't ever seem to get it in my local Dunnes in Blanch or Ongar