Saturday, May 15, 2010

Peanut-Maple Power Bars

Mother's Day was approaching quickly and on holidays I usually like to bake up something. My mom kept telling me not to make her anything. We are both trying to watch out weight, and I totally understood where she was coming from. I remember her mentioning she wanted to make some homemade bars to eat after the gym or even as a snack. I researched and found many great recipes. It came down to one from EatingWell. This website is amazing. It has everything on there about healthy cooking and nutrition. Plus tons of recipes! I had a hard time choosing but their recipe for Almond-Honey Power Bars sounded really good. I liked how it was basically a no baked bar, besides melting the almond butter, honey and sugar on the stove top. It would be the glue for the rest of the ingredients. This bar is crunchy, chewy, perfectly sweet, and nutty!

This recipe is one you can definitely use as a go to recipe and constantly change up the ingredients to come up with new flavors. Which I already did. I decided to swap some ingredients, so I could use up what I had on hand. These made the perfect Mother's Day gift. She was pleasantly surprised and has really been enjoying them! The recipe makes 8 servings and are 244 calories a serving. I decided to make them smaller and into 16 servings, clocking in around 122 calories. It's a perfect satisfying snack. Below you will find my adapted recipe. Click HERE for the original recipe for Almond-Honey Power Bars.

Peanut- Maple Power Bars (Adapted from EatingWell)  
Ingredients
1 cup old-fashion rolled oats
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
1 cup unsweetened whole-grain puffed cereal
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup dried jumbo raisins, chopped
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square pan with cooking spray. Spread oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and sesame seeds on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the oats are lightly toasted and the nuts are fragrant, shaking the pan halfway through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cereal, dried cherries, apricots and raisins; toss to combine. Combine peanut butter, sugar, maple, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles lightly, 2 to 5 minutes. Immediately pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until no dry spots remain. Transfer to the prepared pan. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray and press the mixture down firmly to make an even layer (wait until the mixture cools slightly if necessary). Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes; cut into 8 bars. (I cut mine into 16 bars instead.)

I wrapped each bar individually and into the fridge to stay fresh. They last for a long time! I usually just grab them as I'm on the go, and make a great afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee. I like these even more for the fact I don't like going to the gym hungry in the afternoon, so this bar fixes that problem and I'm able to workout with a boost of power bar energy. ;)


Always,
Fallon

6 comments:

Katrina said...

Those look really good! More power to ya! ;)

Pam said...

These look great. I love the flavor combination.

Robin said...

These look so super dooper healthy. I should keep things like this around for me and my family when we get the munchies.

Kat said...

Hey! I just found your blog and love it! I am super crazy about nutrition and fitness as well, and these bars look mighty delish!
Great blog!!

Fallon said...

Even though these bars are on the healthy side, they are very delicious! Better then any store bought power bar.

Kat: I'm so glad you love my blog!!! Looks like we have plenty in common when it comes to nutrition and fitness.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I am really loving maple these days ... the bars sound great!!!!!