Home Made Health Bars

[OzVegan]

Anyone have any recipes for home made health bars?

I made my first batch last night and they tasted great, albeit, they weren't as solid as I'd like. Ingredients were:

Almond Meal (about a cup)
Almond flakes (about 1/2 cup)
Dessicated Coconut (about 1/2 cup)
Sunflower Seeds (1/2 cup)
Golden Syrup (1/3 cup)
Nuttelex (margarine) 1/4 cup.
2 tbsp of corn flour.

I mixed the dry ingredients together. Heated the Golden Syrup and Nuttelex in the microwave for about 30 seconds and mixed it in. Put it all in a biscuit tray and baked for 25 mins.

Man, they are really tasty! :D

I'm going to buy different ingredients this weekend and try oats etc.

The main thing I think is to get the liquids right so as to force enough dehydration to hold it all together.

[jgfergus]

Hey Oz,
I have been making energy bars for several years. I mainly focus on 100% raw ingredients as I have been about 80% raw for the past 3 years. Obviously you are a vegan. Some of my favorite recipes are...

1. This one is like fudge...
2-3 cups of pecans/cashews/almonds or walnuts
1 cup hemp hearts
1/2 cup raw cocao or raw carob powder (sub with regular cocoa or carob if you can't find raw)
~2 cups of dates (get the good ones like medjool, or barhi that are moist & sticky. Be sure to remove the
pit)
1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
1/4 cup raw agave syrup (or maple syrup or honey)
2-4 tbsp of coconut butter
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (don't use the artificial stuff)
Grind the nuts to powder in a food processor then add all the other ingredients. Process until it forms a
ball. Add more dates/agave if too dry or more nuts/hemp hearts if too moist. Vary the amounts and the
ingredients depending what you can get. Press the mixture into a glass baking dish and refrigerate.

2. If all you have is dates and nuts you can make a great bar as follows...
1 cup raw almonds or other nuts
1 cup soft dates, pitted
1/2 tsp vanilla
Grind the nuts until fully chopped and add the dates and vanilla and blend well. Press into a baking dish
and refrigerate. (This also makes a great pie crust)

3. Sesame Bars
6 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 almonds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup carob chips
Process all in a food processor. Add more raisins or dates if needed. Press into a baking dish and re-
frigerate.

Use your imagination and the ingredients you have on hand and experiment. I make sure I have lots of
dates or raisins and some varieties of nuts and I'm good to go. These are much healthier than any store
bought bar.

Cheers!

[vegetus25]

http://odeo.com/episodes/23493509-Vegan-Tri-Athlete-Brendan-Brazier-makes-Energy-Bars-GREENCHEFS

[OzVegan]

Thanks jgfergus,

I'm off to buy more nuts n stuff today so I'll take some of your recipe ingredients down with me. :)

[OzVegan]

Like Clark_Kent replied, it is not considered Vegan. Even less so in Australia where imported European bees wreak havoc on our local flora.

Basically, if something is derived from animals or uses animal products to arrive at its current state then it is not vegan. For example, some sugars (I think most particularly in the US) are strained through animal bone, which makes it a no-go for vegans. It is increasingly hard to live a vegan lifestyle in today's society, especially if you're not a fringe-dweller with dreadlocks LOL.

Here's something cool though: Pringles label some of their products as vegan and have a vegan tick on the packaging (namely Salted and, Balsamic Vinegar and Sea Salt). Other companies are also beginning to put Vegetarian and Vegan ticks on their products.