Primal Energy Bars

Since making my own granola, I'm also experimenting on how to make my own bars. I figure it is good to start by trying recipes from other people, and then taking what I've learned and adapting to my own bars I hope to create one day. I've had Primal Energy Bars bookmarked for a very long time. They come from Mark's Daily Apple, which is a fantastic blog and I enjoy reading about grok. I've adapted some of information but to be fully primal is something my body doesn't handle well. My diet needs a little bit of everything from fruits, veggies, protein, grains and healthy fats. I can't just eat raw fruit and veggies or all protein and fat. I need variety. So my diet is a mix of everything and I find it works best for me. I always enjoy reading other diets people follow. Lately it been several vegan food blogs that follow semi-raw diets as well. It really cool to stay open minded. I've taken some suggestions and incorporated them into my diet and I'm feeling great and full of energy! I don't have to be in work till this evening, I decided today was the day I'd make these primal energy bars. I had all the ingredients at home, so it was time to make them. I made a few changes to the recipe which I will post below but the full recipe can be found HERE at Mark's Daily Apple.

Primal Energy Bar Recipe (adapted from Mark's Daily Apple)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sliced raw almonds 1/2 cup whole raw pecans 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used a sweetened coconut, since that what I had on hand)

2 oz creamy almond butter

2 oz extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup almond meal (simply pulse approximately 1/4 cup of almonds until it creates a coarse flour) (I bought mine from Trader Joe’s)

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp of raw honey

1/4 cup protein powder (30g) ( I used vanilla Jay Robb brown rice protein)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup dried cherries and cranberries, combined and chopped

Method:

• On a cookie sheet, toast nuts and shredded coconut until golden brown. When you smell them then you know they are done. Trust me, I kind of burnt mine but they still were edible!

• Once toasted, pour mixture into a food processor and pulse until nuts are chopped and the mixture becomes coarsely ground (sort of the consistency of bread crumbs).

Just a little well done! ;)
 

Looks like bread crumbs to me. This mixture tasted awesome just 
like this!  Be a nice topping for vanilla ice cream. :)

• In a mixing bowl, melt coconut oil and almond butter (about 30 seconds). Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.

• Add vanilla extract, honey and sea salt. Mix thoroughly.
• Fold in nut mixture, almond meal and protein powder until mixed thoroughly.
• Add whole egg and mix thoroughly.
• Fold in cherry and cranberry mixture

• Press mixture into an 8x8 loaf pan, no need to grease they won't stick.

What it looks like when everything is incorporated.

• Cook in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.
• Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Cut into 15 pieces/bars

• Enjoy or stack on wax paper/parchment and store in an airtight container.

The texture of the nuts just melts in your mouth.
 

The verdict? I like them! I cut my bars smaller because I wanted them more as a snack, but the original recipe tells you to cut them into 12. I was expecting a firmer bar but these were rather dry and crumbly. Not overly sweet either. You can taste the nuttiness from the toasted nuts, and no signs of coconut taste from the oil or the shredded. I decided against adding more coconut to the top because I didn't want a sweet bar. My dad even approved of these bars and he is a typical white bread kind of guy! I'm glad I was finally able to make these. I spent a total of 40 minutes making these from prepping, to making, to cleaning. They are really quick and easy as long as everything is ready to go. The add-ins are endless to these as well. Mark suggests making a chocolate primal bar by either melting chocolate chips into the batter or waiting for the batter to cool off and then add the chips in to make a chocolate chip primal bar. Since the bars are crumbly, they aren't as easy to eat on the go. I would definitely cut back on the coconut oil and almond butter next time. I like to eat my almond butter on something and see it, when it's mixed into something I don't get the same effect or satisfaction!

Also the nutritional stats are listed on the recipe link as well. Not bad for 184 calories. I made some adjustments by not adding all the protein powder and cutting them into 15 bars. So my may be slightly less in calories. I just love the fact they are very low carb for a bar! I'm going to work this evening I think it is time for a nap!!! Doesn't that sound good? Oh yes! Tomorrow morning I'm waking up at 6am to go run some stairs at the park. This is becoming one of my favorite outdoor exercises! I just found out today as well that this Saturday is UFC at my best friend's house. I'm really not in the mood to bake a sweet treat. I've been doing really well on eating clean and I'd like to keep up with it. So I decided to buy a dessert. I will let you know what it is this weekend. ;)

Have a healthy one,
Fallon