Power bars

**The Blind King of Bohemia** · 06-12-2006, 11:09

I've had a few on occasions, some sort of choc variety, not bad. I prefer protein drinks more though. Always try to pick 'em up when they are reduced in holland and barrett, from 20 to 10 quid. They can help to take away the pian you feel after getting back into more intense exercises. I could do with one as i'm trying new exercise on back and neck and save to say i'm slightly sore to say the least

**naut** · 06-12-2006, 11:43

Power bars, of the musli choc variety! Their great, I have about three a day. Your homemade ones sound good too.

**Sjakihata** · 06-12-2006, 11:45

I prefer to eat a red steak than a powerbar if I lack protein.

**naut** · 06-12-2006, 11:46

Originally Posted by Sjakihata

I prefer to eat a red steak than a powerbar if I lack protein.

Steak

, but I wouldn't have the time to have one as a snack.

**SwordsMaster** · 06-12-2006, 11:56

The basic idea is organic oats, quinoa (a grain), buckwheat flour, lots of chopped nuts and raisins, some dark chocolate, a bit of Brown sugar, and a big whack of pure hemp protein powder. Eggs, molasses, and vegetable oil hold it all together.

The end result is a dense, heavy bar that tastes good, is chewy (but doesn't break your teeth), and packs a good punch. One bar (3"x1"x3/4) is sufficient to keep you going for a while. I figure it costs me about a buck for each of my homemade bars. Haven't figured out how many calories in each bar, but probably about 6 to 8 grams of protein just from the hemp powder. Not sure what the rest of the ingredients offer other than they're healthy and they taste good.

Thats pretty impressive. Good job!

I don't really know what works for you and how much of everything you put in, but I would give up the brown sugar, seeing as you already have raisins and chocolate, use just egg whites (you should get enough fat into you with all the nuts already), and try to balance the nuts so that you get some but not all almonds into the mix.

Pretty solid bar, there. If you have that with a pint of coffee with milk, its a meal in itself.

As a guidance, you want about 25% fat, 50% protein and 25% carbs. Also, if you want a burst of energy, you'll want simpler carbs (raisins, chocolate, sugar), and if you want longer lasting energy you will want more complex ones (oats, wholemeal wheat, you get the drift).

I tend to use smoothies to cover all my needs. My typical smoothie has bananas, raspberries, blackberries, milk, orange juice, oats, almonds and protein powder. Keeps me going all morning.

**Sjakihata** · 06-12-2006, 12:24

I dont get it. Why do you people care SO much about excat energy and what you eat? I mean, I wouldnt want to spend 1/10 of my life speculating what to eat, then cook it and eat it. The two first takes enough time already.

**SwordsMaster** · 06-12-2006, 12:48

Originally Posted by Sjakihata

I dont get it. Why do you people care SO much about excat energy and what you eat? I mean, I wouldnt want to spend 1/10 of my life speculating what to eat, then cook it and eat it. The two first takes enough time already.

Well, if you are cooking anyway, and shopping for food anyway, why not do it right? It doesn't take so long. And don't tell me you'd rather have a McDonalds burger over a nice lean steak....

**Beirut** · 06-12-2006, 19:16

Originally Posted by SwordsMaster

Thats pretty impressive. Good job!

I don't really know what works for you and how much of everything you put in, but I would give up the brown sugar, seeing as you already have raisins and chocolate, use just egg whites (you should get enough fat into you with all the nuts already), and try to balance the nuts so that you get some but not all almonds into the mix.

Pretty solid bar, there. If you have that with a pint of coffee with milk, its a meal in itself.

Glad you like the recipe. I only used the brown sugar because the recipe called for it, but I'm trying different variations, both for fun and to see what feels best after eating.

I'm going to try the egg white idea, I like that. I used a lot of almonds in this mix because she told me to. The next batch will be cashew heavy. Want to try another batch with blueberries. Nice thing is it's easy to muck about with the recipe.

Originally Posted by SwordsMaster

As a guidance, you want about 25% fat, 50% protein and 25% carbs. Also, if you want a burst of energy, you'll want simpler carbs (raisins, chocolate, sugar), and if you want longer lasting energy you will want more complex ones (oats, wholemeal wheat, you get the drift).

I want both. I need something that I can eat fast, will hit fast, and carry me through about two hours of work. I like the mix of the grains and the chocolate. (Who wouldn't?)

Originally Posted by SwordsMaster

I tend to use smoothies to cover all my needs. My typical smoothie has bananas, raspberries, blackberries, milk, orange juice, oats, almonds and protein powder. Keeps me going all morning.

We're on the same road you and I. Every morning I dump four bananas, half a litre of yogurt, a bunch of blueberries, a whack of organic flax seed, some strawberries and a big spalsh of OJ and whizzzzzzzzzzzzz! The kids get a glass after a light breakfast and she has a big glass before work. I drink mine on the way out the door. Believe me, feeding kids a good breakfast can be... trying. Give them something that looks like a milkshake and it makes life (mine) much easier.

You put oats in your smoothie? You must have a helluva blender to make that drinkable. Also, I tried putting the hemp protein powder in the smoothies this morning but it made them a bit too earthy.

**Duke Malcolm** · 06-12-2006, 19:38

On the point of Swordmaster's thread... why was this unstickied? Isn't it still useful?

Anyhoo...
I find shop-bought power bars quite disgusting -- I bought one once for the Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award Expedition and it sat in my rucksack for 3 weeks...
Home-made ones might be interesting...

**SwordsMaster** · 06-21-2006, 00:37

Originally Posted by Beirut

We're on the same road you and I. Every morning I dump four bananas, half a litre of yogurt, a bunch of blueberries, a whack of organic flax seed, some strawberries and a big spalsh of OJ and whizzzzzzzzzzzzz! The kids get a glass after a light breakfast and she has a big glass before work. I drink mine on the way out the door. Believe me, feeding kids a good breakfast can be... trying. Give them something that looks like a milkshake and it makes life (mine) much easier.

You put oats in your smoothie? You must have a helluva blender to make that drinkable. Also, I tried putting the hemp protein powder in the smoothies this morning but it made them a bit too earthy.

Actually I bought the cheapest blender I could find in an emergency (best buy, EVA), but it manages to reduce the oats to a size that is small enough to swallow without getting teary eyes...

Protein... yeah, well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do... I tried putting eggs in (tried raw, tried fried, tried boiled... one of those screwed up my previous blender because I also added black pudding - don't ask -), but that didn't work out, so because I still need the protein in the morning and eggs just refuse to cooperate, I had to resort to powder. On the plus side, I picked one that tastes like strawberry so it goes ok with all the rest of the fruit.