My husband is an amateur cyclist, I guess. He gets on his bike and rides, rides, rides. We’re talking 30+ miles. I’m going to assume that biking 30 miles takes a lot out of a person – believe me, I wouldn’t know from experience 🙂

On one of his earlier rides, he came home and told me a story: Our friends gave him an energy bar for a zap of energy to keep him going for the rest of the trip. He took a bite, made a face, and commented how his wife’s cooking must have him spoiled because those bars were… not good.

We make a batch of energy bars every few weeks. They’re fresher and contain far fewer processed ingredients. These bars aren’t just for amateur cyclists. I crumble one up in a bowl and top with plain yogurt for breakfast. No contest – it definitely beats my usual bowl of oatmeal.

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Homemade Energy Bars

Homemade energy bars loaded with dried berries and nuts.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
• 2 2/3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup soy protein powder or whey protein powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup roasted sun flower seeds
• 3/4 cup dried blueberries
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
2. Mix the syrup and peanut butter together in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined.
3. Press it into the prepared pan. It will be slightly sticky but should still spread easily into the pan if you grease your fingers.
4. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cut into ~4x2 bars while still warm but allow to cool completely in the pan. Wrap each bar individually and store for up to 10 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Notes

Yields: 12 servings

Adapted from Serious Eats

Estimated time: 35 minutes