Two Energy Bar Recipes!

As promised a few weeks ago, I plan to share my homemade energy bar recipes as I create them. Every couple of weeks, I concoct a new batch of energy bars to eat before my morning runs and weight training sessions. I use a graph from the Thrive Forward website to pair fruits, nuts, seeds, carbs, and protein in balanced combinations.

After my Thrive cleanse in January, I decided to abandon my usual storebought energy bars for homemade, healthier bars. So many bars that you buy are loaded with sugar and additives, plus most tend to be higher in protein. From what I've learned, protein is better for post-workout while easy-to-digest simple carbs, like fruit, are better for pre-workout snacking. These homemade bars have some protein, but there's more focus on simple carbs (like dates!).

I have two recipes to share tonight. Both bars look pretty similar, but I assure you that they taste very different. Also, they both look a little like poop. But I swear they're delicious. Dates are the main ingredient, and let's face it, dates are not very sexy.

The first bar is a Matcha Green Tea Almond Bar. It's my favorite of the two. It has the same chewy texture as a Larabar, and it has that tannic green tea taste. The other bar is a Pear Flax Cinnamon Bar. It's softer than the green tea bar, but it has a sweeter cinnamon pear flavor.

Matcha Green Tea Almond Bar
Yields 12 bars
117 calories each


1 1/2 cups chopped dates
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup whole raw almonds
1/4 cup matcha green tea powder

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Process until the mixture gets sticky and starts to ball up. Turn the mixture out onto a cutting board and shape into a square. Cut the bars into 12 equal-sized pieces. Individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Pear Flax Cinnamon Bar
Makes 8 bars
132 calories each

1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup diced pear
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup powdered hemp protein
1/4 cup whole flax seed
2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Process until the mixture gets sticky and starts to ball up. Turn the mixture out onto a cutting board and shape into a square. Cut the bars into 8 equal-sized pieces. Individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge.