Vegan Energy Bars

From the METHOD archives: When I lived in Ithaca, my favorite natural foods store carried these amazing energy chunks made with various healthy ingredients . . . but also usually with chocolate in the mix somewhere. So, when I was flipping through the latest copy of Runner’s World yesterday, page 41’s quick energy bar recipe caught my eye.

Now, I’ve modified these quite heavily to my taste. The original recipe calls for sunflower seeds, dates, tahini in place of peanut butter, etc. So, as always, experiment by adding your own favorite ingredients. I highly recommend adding pretzel chunks. Sweet & salty.

YUM.

Baking, yes. But these treats are for more than just satisfying your sweet tooth. The ingredients are meant to charge you with energy. Great for before a run . . . or when you’re on the run. In fact, I’m eating a chunk of the stuff for lunch today.

SUPER-CHARGED ENERGY BARS

What you’ll need . . .

• 2 cups quick oats (I used multigrain hot cereal)
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup crushed pretzels
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
• 1-1/2 cups natural peanut butter
• 1 cup honey (or maple syrup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
  
  
  

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, coconut flakes, pretzels, walnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, and raisins.
3. Mix together peanut butter, honey, and vanilla in a small bowl, then microwave on high for 1 minute.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients (I found I needed to transfer it over to my mixer because it was difficult to mix manually). And add chocolate chips, if desired.
5. Generously grease (with your favorite butter substitute) a baking sheet (I used my 9” x 13” brownie pan) and pour in mixture. Press into the pan – bars should be 1 inch thick (or so).
6. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating pan at the half-way point.
7. Let cool, refrigerate, cut into approx. 12 bars, and enjoy.
8. You may also wish to just turn the mix into granola, in which case, you can simply let cool and crumble.

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