Care To Cook

Especially when we go skiing, our lunch break is modest and more out of necessity-  warm up, take a bathroom break, get water.  The mark up of snack or packaged food items at a ski resort are ridiculous!  They have you captive.  While many resorts prepare great looking burgers, fries, chili, and just about anything else hot you would craze on a chilly day- that quantity of food would put us in the mood for a nap before a few hours more of the slopes!
In an effort to save money while in these situations and cut out another product out of diet that is "processed", I decided to do some research on power and protein bar recipes in order to make my own.  Ultimately I ended up combining a few recipes together and then altering the results to get the texture right while keeping the fat and sugar down, while keeping the protein level satisfying.  Taste is a huge factor too.  Those pesky chemical additives can be tasty!

So here are two recipes that I think are very adaptable and can be tweaked to a lot of individual taste preferences as far as nuts, seeds, dried fruits, spices, and protein powder flavors.  One has more of a cake-like texture, the other is a bit more nutty and crunchy.

The other nice thing about both these recipes is that they will not be affected by the temperature like some power bars.  Ones that are dipped in chocolate are gooey mess in the heat.  Ones that have too much rice cereal or caramel freeze in winter- good luck trying to find a tooth in the snow!

Soft and Chewy Protein Bars
makes 12 bars

¼ cup  whole wheat pastry flour
½ whey protein powder (chocolate or banana flavor)
2 cups rolled oats
1 t baking powder
½ t sea salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t pumpkin pie spice
1/2t ground ginger
½ peanut butter OR almond butter OR ¼ of each mixed OR ½ cup peanut butter + 1T cocoa powder
¼ cup agave nectar
2-3 mashed ripe bananas (at least 3/4 cup)
1T powdered honey OR  1T sugar
2 T of sunflower seeds OR 1T sf seeds +1T of flax or sesame seeds OR 2T pumpkin seeds
3T dried prunes/plums, chopped
3T good dark chocolate, chopped OR 3T cinnamon chips OR crushed chocolate covered espresso beans

Preheat the oven to 350.  Coat a 9x9 baking pan with cooking spray.  Combine the first eight ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix the agave, bananas, and sugar/honey powder in a small bowl.  Stir in peanut butter/almond butter.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until well combined.

Stir in the prunes/plums, seeds, and chocolate.  Press the batter evenly into the pan.  After it is in the pan, I usually place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and smooth out the top with a small rolling pin or glass.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.  It will be firm, yet still soft.  Do not over bake or it will dry out quickly.  Once cooled, cut them into the desired size.  Individually wrap the bars in plastic wrap for convenience.
Store them in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life, or freeze them for later use.  They are best eaten with 7 days of baking or thawing.

Fruity Nutty Power Bars

1 cup rolled oats
¼ cup almonds,roughly chopped
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup wheat germ
1/2 cup rice krispies or another whole-grain puffed rice cereal
½ Kashi Crunch cereal or Uncle Sam’s Toasted wheatberry and flaxseed cereal
½ cup dried plums (puree in mini chopper)
1/3 cup cranraisins OR dried apricots, apples, mango, roughly chopped
1/3 cup raisins, roughly chopped
2t ground cinnamon
2t crystalized ginger (optional)
1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter
1T honey powder
1t vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1t canola oil
1t agave nectar
1T unsweetened applesauce
pinch of kosher salt
Optional ingredients:  handful of cinnamon chips, chocolate covered pomegranate seeds or acai berries

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.

2.  Spread the oats, nuts, seeds, and wheat germ on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake until the oats are lightly toasted, and nuts,  fragrant, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add cereals, dried fruits, and spice, toss to combine.

3.  Combine peanut or almond butter, honey powder, oil, agave, and pinch of salt in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium low, stirring until everything is mixed together, about 3-5 minutes.
Whisk the egg whites, applesauce, and vanilla together in a small bowl.

4.  Pour peanut/almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients, as well as the egg whites, and mix until combined and moistened.  Add any additional ingredients.  Place mixture in prepared pan. Using a flexible spatula and/or a piece of wax paper, press mixture evenly and firmly into a level layer.  Don’t be shy, you want this to be pressed together well so that they don’t fall apart later. 

5.  Bake until browned about 15-20 minutes.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack. 
Tightly wrap in individual bars and store at room temperature.  Best if eaten within a week, can be frozen up to a month.