E=MC^2 Bars (Double Batching NRG Bars!)

I haven't strayed too much from the Energy (NRG) Bar recipes in the book Thrive by Brendan Brazier, but today I stepped out of the box on the second set of NRG bars. They're very good, very calorie efficient, taste great, and are perfect for pre-activity or general on the go usage. Only thing I can complain about...it'll turn to mush if you put it into a bag in your cycling jersey. Thus, usage for during activity is limited to activities during which you take breaks. I am working on devising an NRG Bar for during race/activity use. It will be the natural, homemade equivalent of what many people use as CLIF Bars and PowerBars. It will likely require a baking procedure, which I don't mind...but I'm going to strive for a raw version as well - as many athletes like the immediate digestibility and unadulterated touch of raw food. I may just go with the "NRG Ball" and ball-up these bars with added Honey/Agave to complete the ball...

So, back to today's kitchen FRENZY. I had the day off from work and (more impressively) took the day off from my bike. Surprise, surprise! After a complete half year of not missing a single day of cardio activity - despite my Dad's hospital stay and my broken collarbone and life - I deemed (with extensive persuasion from my teammates and 'coach') a day out of the saddle would help and not hurt.

Thus, I had A LOT of excess energy to burn and I took it out in the form of food...my second favorite thing to cycling. Here's the list:

1. Sweet Potato Caribbean Kale Soup
2. Whole Wheat Bread (my first bread making ever!)
3. Carob Blueberry NRG Bars
4. Apple Cinnamon NRG Bars

Note: Both NRG Bars adapted from Thrive.

Since today's focus is NRG Bars you'll be getting two (yes, 2!) recipes :)

First up were the ones I absolutely 100% love: Carob Blueberry NRG Bars:

NRG Slabs! About to become the glorious "NRG Bars"
(Left: Carob-BB, Right: Apple-Cinn)

NRG Bars:

Carob Blueberry:

• ¼ C Almonds (32g)
• 1 C (10 avg sized) Medjool Dates (131g)
• ¼ C (30g) Coarsely Ground Flaxseed – but any Flaxseed shall work
• ¼ C (34g) UNHULLED Sesame Seeds – nutritional content is absurdly better in unhulled!
• ¼ C (30g) Carob Powder

Add-ins:

• 1 C (200g) Cooked Buckwheat – comes from about 1/3 cup dry (when cooked with H₂O 2:1). Also, I cook A LOT of Buckwheat at once and store it in the fridge because I make these/use buckwheat so often – freshly cooked buckwheat yields a bit gooey-er of bars.
• ½ C (74g) Blueberries

Put all except buckwheat/blueberries into the food processor (FP) and blend until smooth/clumpy. If it gets too thick, add water 1T at a time. Then add Add-ins…you can either ‘pulse’ or (better, but a pain!) hand mix them into the blended goodness.

Flatten to approx ¼ inch onto a cutting board – mine came out to be close to 8x8 inches. I prefer to put it in the fridge for 30+ minutes so it firms up a bit, which eases the cutting and storing process. Cut in 8 bars (each is 3.5”x2”) and put into tupperware, separate levels of bars with wax paper.

Apple Cinnamon:

• 1 Large (242g) Apple – I had Fiji on hand. By large I mean the thing weighs 242g, a half-pound
• ⅓ C (48g) Popped Amaranth – A really cool grain that pops like popcorn (see below for resources on how this cool, but easy process works!)
• 1 C (~20) Mariani Pitted Dates (140g) – tested these instead of Medjool. In order to get the thickness that Medjool’s have I measured the cup, filled it with water and set it aside while adding other ingredients. Before adding them to the FP I drained the water. This will ensure that your bars are not ‘dusty’ but stay together well!
• ¼ C (30g) Hemp Protein
• ¼ C (32g) Cashews
• 1T Cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp Nutmeg

Add-ins:

• ½ C (50g) Rolled Oats (thicker = better!) 

Follow same directions as listed above. These ones came out a bit mushy. I would suggest using a not-so-dry grain like Amaranth/Oats. The original recipe calls for Quinoa (I didn’t have any readily available) and I think that would hold a touch better…but the apple is a pretty runny fruit when hit with the FP, so who knows?


Amaranth "Reading" (actually "video") Materials...reading just sounds more official and studious. I'm still wondering why I wrote "Reading" haha: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqbQDKxDyW4

Now for the nutrition: 8 bars per recipe.

 And now for the Candy of the Eye:

NRG Bars, tucked away for tomorrow. And Saturday. And Sunday...
(Yes, those are three full layers of bars)

The flavors of both are excellent. Carob BB's turned out better than ever - not so chocolatey that they seem dessert-like so they're good for activity. Apple Cinnamon are very good, I wouldn't suggest using too much more cinnamon/nutmeg than I did (I like the spice-filled flavor, so I doubled/tripled the original recipe quantities).