Make your own Energy Bars

“I've been making these bars for years and just wanted to post the recipe in case anyone was interested in making their own, saving money and having a natural snack. I substitute EnerG egg replacer instead of using eggs and it works well. You don't have to, I just don't eat eggs. Energy bars”

“I don't have the energy!”

“Thanks Rich, I'll give them a try.”

“Hey Rich are you hiking this weekend?”

“Why make them when I can buy them for 88 cents.”

“Because we can! Back to nature and all that.”

“richb, thanks for the recipe I will make them this wknd.”

“I am going to try it! Thanks!!”

“thanks richb, i think i'll make some for the roaring plains trip.”

“.88 - .17 = .71 cents saving per bar.

I agree, not worth the effort.”

“Lyndy, I'm not sure yet if I'm hiking. I was talking to my friend about going fly fishing since the rain we had brought the fishing back. I didn't hear from him yet.
Well, I guess the money savings is not really earth shaking with making your own bars, but for those that want to control what they put into their food, eliminate artificial additives and enjoy making their own food it's a good alternative. Once you get it wired it really doesn't take that long to do. A pretty good book for backpacking foods for those that like to cook and use whole grains and such is a book called "Simple foods for the pack" put out by Sierra club books. There's some good recipes for journey breads and pemmican. I was reading it the other night in my quest for some new things to bring.”

“Good luck with the fishing, Rich. It was in the sixties here early this morning. Kind of like living in the south. I guess we will get to autumn eventually, or maybe we'll just skip straight to winter. I'm waiting to hear from MSilver about possibly dayhiking the Catskills tomorrow. Lots to do around the homestead today.

The dried apples I made are so lightweight that I'm going to just bring those backpacking instead of the apricots and cranberries I usually bring. I did a second batch with more lemon juice and they still were beige, but good looking. I'm going to try your energy bars but I have to get figs first. Have you experimented with other fruits instead of fig?”

“He sent me an email last night and they are going dayhiking in the Cats. I'm going flyfishing tomorrow with my friend since the streams are in good shape now. I can't wait since I've been waiting for them to come back for some fall fishing action. I going to get out today too.”

“Next batch of bars I make I'm going to try raisins. My guess is that you can use just about any fruit. I'm going to add some peanut butter too.”

“Yes I did get an email from him! Yeah, I'm going to the Catskills! Someplace called Kaaterskill. I have to get my maps out.”

“Great! Have a nice hike.”

“Thanks rich, I may try these for next weekend. I wonder how they'll taste with whole wheat flour? Hmmm...I wonder what a little buckwheat flour will do?...”

“Scully, I was going to use buckwheat flour too. We'll see.”

“If anyone tries a variation of the original recipe and it tastes good please share it here. I'd like to try some new things with this just to see how it would be.”

“Sorry Rich, I didn't get to this yet. I'll post it when I get a batch made.”

“I didn't make any yet either, but when I do I'll try the raisins and peanut butter and let you know how it works out.”

“Me either ¦ ( . I hope I'm able to before this weekend.”

“richb, I didnt end up making em either I am however in the process of baking my second batch of regular granola bars. the first batch were yummy, I am hoping to make enough to stock up for a while.”

“That's usually what I do is just make a double batch and freeze them in tupperware containers. I press them on to a cookie sheet and then cut them into bars instead of rolling them. I don't put the oat bran on the outside either because of making them in bar form.”

“I made some "nutrition"/energy bars and dang were those babies heavy, I'm talkin' the specific gravity of gold. Sweet, too.”

“tried a variation,added 1/3 c almonds, 4 prunes and a little more syrup. made bars and turned out great! Trader Joe's has everything for a price....”

“That's great. I'm going to try a variation this week too and I'll post on how it turns out.”

“The peanut butter and chocolate chips I added to the mix definitley took care of my overpowering sweet tooth. Thanks for the recipe, there are alot of potential variations.”

“Has anyone tried making the Carb Bars on the back of the Grape Nuts box?”

“Does anyone know why they named them "Grape Nuts"? They taste good but what a goofy name.

I think that grape nuts would be good in the energy bars. They are made of barley. I used rolled oats and rolled barley to make cookies with raisins and cranberries and they were great.”

“I never saw the recipe, but I'll have to check it out.”

“Not sure why they are called that, LyndyS. I always wondered that.

I believe the recipe calls for corn syryup, sugar, peanut butter and grape nuts. Could be fun to make variations of it.”

“Grape Nuts Peanut Butter Carb Bars:

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup reduced fat peanut butter
4 cups Grape Nuts Cereal

I made a half recipe this morning. I added coconut, almond/toffe chips, crushed pecans and mini chocolate chips. Quite delicious!!

2 Cups of Grape Nuts provides 840 calories. (40 from fat). 4 grams of fat, 1360 g of sodium, 20 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugars, 148 grams of "other" carbs. That doesn't include the rest of the ingredients.

Using a half recipe makes about 8 bars the size of a typical energy bar.”

“I never thought about making my own. I like that idea.
But what is it you have to do?
mix it together then mold into bars then ref. them?”

“I suppose the instructions would be helpful! lol

Put the corn syrup, sugar and pb in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for about 2 minutes, or until it just starts to boil. Add the Grape Nuts. Add whatever other ingredients you might like. Spread into a foil-lined baking dish (13x9 for full recipe) and let cool.

I spread the choc chips over the top while it was still hot so there would be a thin layer of chocolate!”

“that sounds good...i love Grape Nuts! a LOT of sugar in that recipe...i wonder if you could half it and it would work out alright. might not hold together very well...”

“Ok im going to the store tonight and get the stuff I will need to make this. I know the children will love it!~!
I like the fact that i can make it for them, and then take it hiking and they will enjoy it!
thanks for the great idea!!”

“Do the grape nuts soften up when made into the bars? They seem hard right out of the box.”

“I made a batch tonight using raisins instead of the figs and added one half cup of peanut butter. They came out good and were easier to make since you don't have to chop up the raisins like you do the figs.”

“I took the Grape Nut bars on my last trip. They are tasty. Awful sweet, too! Tough to bite into when it's cold. But worth it.

I need to play around w/ the recipe some so I can use less Corn Syrup. Not sure what to use in place of it, yet.”

“You may want to try any of the following or a combination of sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, sorghum or date sugar.”