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Berry Chocolatey Energy Bar (Raw Vegan)
August 17, 2009 | 31 Comments
“Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate.” ~ Charles M. Schulz
It happens to us almost every weekend. Get up late, rush to the gym on an empty stomach. Two hours later, we leave the gym with a list of chores to do.
In the parking lot, the rumbling of our stomachs is almost as loud as the car engine. If we haven’t exhausted our stash of energy bars in the car, all’s well with the world and we carry on with our plans.
We’ve read the nutrition labels for almost all the brands on the market, and there are two we like – Trio (available at Costco by the box) and Lara Bar (available in single units at most grocery stores). Both use a minimal list of natural ingredients – fruits (fresh and dried), nuts, whole grains, spices. No added sweeteners, dairy, artificial flavourings or colours, no protein powders.
(Odwalla bars are also all-natural, but the first ingredient in many of them is a sweetener – brown rice syrup.)
These are not low-fat by any means.
The Blueberry Trio Bar, for instance, has 170 calories, 100 of which are from fat (12 grams). The Cocoa-Mole Lara Bar has 180 calories, 90 of which are from fat (9 grams).
We have no quarrels with fat as long as it comes from natural sources like nuts, seeds and avocadoes. We no longer look at the fat and total calorie columns while reading labels on packaged foods. We simply look at:
- the ingredients themselves. They should be all natural and preferably vegan.
- the sodium content
- the sugar content
Shoba experimented with ingredients to come up with a Lara Bar-likeness on her site (We’ll be trying this as soon as this batch is over). We’ve also been checking out some of the fantastic vegan energy bars in Brendan Brazier’s Thrive.
His Chocolate Blueberry Energy Bars are super-delicious and designed to be rich in antioxidants and flavonoids, while improving cell recovery after exercise. The first time Jai made them, they turned out a bit too sticky.
That’s easy to fix. Add a bit more nut or flax powder, roll them into little balls instead of cutting them into bars, and roll the balls in dry unsweetened dessicated coconut. They form little delicious mouthfuls to snack on or as a dessert.
We tweaked it the next time substituting some of the ingredients and proportions based on what was at hand.
When we went out of town for a few days a couple months ago, the raspberries in the garden shrivelled up into little dried red nuggets. They sat on the branches and air-dried for a month. Last week we picked about half cup of these dried raspberries and added them to our energy bar. They add concentrated flavour and don’t make the bar soggy. Win-win. You can use dried blueberries, raisins, or any non-sulphured dried fruit of your choice.
We replaced the roasted carob powder with raw cacao nibs to keep them 100% raw. The ingredient was available at our local co-op and a real revelation. You can easily find them (roasted or raw) online. Grind them up in a spice grinder and use them in lieu of cocoa powder in any recipe.
Chocolate at its purest: Raw Cacao Nibs
Cacao beans are cleaned, fermented, dried and crushed to yield cacao nibs or concentrated chocolate. Most times, they are roasted, but they are also available raw. They have a nice bittersweet flavour and aroma, and 100% pure cocoa powder is simply ground up roasted cacao nibs.
They are much more intensely chocolatey than dark chocolate, which has cacao nibs with cocoa butter (and sometimes soy lecithin added). The sweeter varieties (like bittersweet, semisweet and milk chocolate) have sugar added as well.
Aztec sculpture of a man holding a cacao pod (Wikimedia Commons)
Cacao nibs are perfect for savoury chocolate dishes like Mexican mole or Champurrado (the hot chocolate drink thickened with corn meal).
Unsweetened cocoa powder is an acceptable substitute.
Don’t be discouraged by the long ingredient list. We have listed substitutes for those that may not be easily available.
BERRY CHOCOLATEY ENERGY BAR (Raw Vegan)
Adapted from Brendan Brazier’s Chocolate-Blueberry Energy Bars in Thrive.
**Soak nuts and seeds for a couple of hours, then drain and pat them dry before using them to get rid of enzyme inhibitors. This step is optional.
**If you are using sprouted grains like wheat, barley or buckwheat, you need to start the process two days in advance. Note: buckwheat sprouts release a lot of liquid into the end result, so add a tablespoon at a time. (How to Sprout Grains)
I
Line a loaf pan or small baking sheet with foil or wax paper with some overhang on the sides. We use our rectangular tart pan for this. It’s the perfect size for making 10 to 12 bars of the thickness we want and it has a removable bottom.
II
In a food processor pulse until you get a paste (it need not be very fine):
1 cup packed chopped dates
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup raw cacao nibs
**or roasted cacao nibs or pure unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder.
1/4 cup flaxseed (coarsely powdered in a spice grinder)
**or seeds of choice, like pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup hemp protein powder
**available at most natural food stores. Vegans can use brown rice protein powder or pea protein powder or any nut or seed powder. Non-vegans can use whey protein powder.
1/4 cup sesame seeds (preferably the unhulled light brown variety)
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
1 tsp orange or lemon zest (organic)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup blueberries
**or any berries. As you blend, you may find that you need more – I used 1/3 cup.
Pulse it all until it comes together, but is not sticky. If it’s too sticky, add some nut powder or dry unsweetened dessicated coconut.
III
Then add
1/2 cup finely chopped dried fruit (we used dried raspberries)
**if using figs, apricots, etc., use unsulphured
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
**or coarsely ground pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sprouted whole grains (we used wheat sprouts)
**or more seeds like sunflower or sesame. If using sprouted grains grains try quinoa, amaranth, barley or buckwheat. Some release more liquid than others, so add a tablespoon at a time.
You can add this two ways:
- Knead it into the blended date-nut paste. Much more convenient as the seeds and sprouts won’t fall of the energy bar when you are handling or eating it.
- Or spread them at the bottom of the pan over the foil/wax paper. Then press the blended date-nut paste on top evenly. Fold the foil over and press the paste down by gently evening it out with a potato masher or something heavy over the foil. (Like THIS). It looks prettier (as you can see in the pic), but is less convenient to eat.
If the sprouts made it unmanageably sticky, add a bit more nut or flax powder, roll them into little balls instead of cutting them into bars, and roll the balls in dry unsweetened dessicated coconut.
IV
Refrigerate for 3 hours or so, cut into bars and store. OR just roll into little balls, rolls in nut powder or unsweetened dry dessicated coconut and store.
STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION
These do not have as long a shelf-life as store-bought energy bars. They probably dry the store-bought ones in a dehydrator to prolong their shelf life. We still keep the store-bought ones in our cars. The homemade ones are mainly consumed at home – either as a snack between meals or as a whole meal crumbled into cereal or mixed in with a salad.
If you want to take them to the gym and consume them with three or four hours, that’s fine. Or keep some in your refrigerator at work. If you want to go on a road trip with them, freeze them and put the frozen energy bar in your car. After an hour or two, they will have thawed well enough to be consumed. Or take them in an insulated cooler.
Cacao Nibs go The Cabinet of Prof. Kitty for Weekend Herb Blogging.
- Bee and Jai
Filed Under: Almond, Blueberry, Brendan Brazier, cacao nibs, Chocolate, Date, Flax seeds, GARDENING, Hemp, Lemon/Lime, NUTRITION, Orange, Raspberry, raw food, Sesame Seeds, sprouted wheat, Sunflower Seeds, Thrive Diet, vegan athlete, vegan recipes, Vegetarian Athlete, vegetarian recipes, Wheat
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31 Comments
This sounds fantastic. I do not like any bars from the stores. I like them not sweet, & all the ones i have tried so far are too sweet for me. How fortunate that you get home grown raspberries !
mmm. those bars looks so healthy and yummy. Would love to have one
I just read about cacao nibs for the first time in a book that Arundati (Escapades) gifted me when they stayed with us last month.
The bars look great… I love the colour. We get a brand called Nature Valley here… and now Horlicks…Horlicks is crazily sweet.
nature valley is not terrible, but it has way too much sugar.
What about Zone bars? any good at all?
I used to eat the Glucerna bar last year (that was what the dietitian recommended for Gestational Diabetes) so this is out now.
i picked one at random. zone chocolate coconut crunch bar.
http://tinyurl.com/pfhlxl
Soy Protein Nuggets (Isolated Soy Protein, Rice Flour, Malt, Salt), Corn Syrup, Sodium Caseinate, Cocoa Butter, Apple Bits, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavor, Oat Fiber, Fructose, less than 2% of the following: Fig Paste, Plum and Prune Bits, Beet Juice, Gellan Gum, Apple Bits, Toasted Barley Flakes, Toasted Oats, Brown Crisp Rice, Gum Arabic, Citric Acid, Guar Gum, Cinnamon, Glycerine, Lecithin, Ascorbic Acid, Magnesium Oxide, Ascorbyl Palmitate, D-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Niacinamide, Zinc Oxide, Fish Oil, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Chromium Chloride, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Sodium Molybdate, Biotin, Cholecalciferol, Cyanocobalamin.
anything with fructose and corn syrup is epic fail in my book. fructose is nasty for your body. less than 2% of fruits and no nuts. plus, i’m not a big fan of soy and it’s the first ingredient.
Will try these out very soon(as soon as I have all ing. at hand), and let you know how they turned out,they look very good and healthy.
mmm yummy. Looks like a chewy mouthful delight for every bite!
Just lovely work here. I’m quite certain many will not go to the trouble to do something like this – so many people won’t stop and read the ingredients list, much less research more acceptable substitutes to make their own version of what is, after all, a type of convenience food. I simply appreciate how completely you are accepting responsibility for your body, for your health, for what you put in your mouth. I am nowhere near there yet – but salute the effort you are making.
I’ve never used cacao nibs before…will look for it. The bars look great.
Btw, thank you both. You know why
Those look delish. I have to say I laughed out loud at the Charles Schultz quote. Love that Charles.
For some reason, my body doesnt seem to like any of the Protein bars – no idea why. Less sugar, less fat, I can check however many labels – my body doesnt seem to process the fact that the bars can be good for me.
As recently as 2 weeks back, we went to Yosemite Half Dome hike – we had to survive about 18 miles (to n fro from our camp) of the hike – whole day on water and bars! On the return trip down, I started throwing up even the little bit of water that I had!!! Then someone offered me 1 carrot and suddenly I was all energy to come down all the way – somehow my body dint want to see Bars as energy!
I have no allergies, no issues otherwise. And these bars are not among those high sugar high fat low energy types! They are good healthy ones!
Any idea why? Or do you know anyone who is like me? Many of my friends tease me that I am probably the only Indian who cant eat Subway (I dont go near one – the very smell does something to me) and whose mind cant understand the concept of protein bars(!!!!)
I love the colour on them.
mmm these look so good – and I need to use up the cocoa nibs which are hanging around my pantry
Thank U , Bee!
Bee ,
The bars look lovely. I have everything except cacao nibs , I have cacao powder instead.
I have tried trio and odwalla , Odwalla is a big no no, I prefer trio to it. what about using maltitol as a sweetener? I normally use maltitol based products for myself at home.just curious about it. also I prefer agave nectar to any other sweetener.
sugar (sucrose) has 50% fructose. fructose is bad bad bad for the body except when consumed as fruit, which has nutrients and fiber. don’t know about artificial sweeteners as i avoid them, but if maltitol has less fructose than sugar and no known side effects other than bloating, i’d say it’s better than sugar.
Bee, I’m curious, would glucose be a better option? You know those green boxes that we get in India – “Glucon D” and such?
brown rice syrup
http://www.eatqod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=245
or date sugar which is just dried and ground up dates.
lower glycemic load and at least it has some fiber and nutrients.
Thank you bee,I havent had a drop or rise in my blood sugars, yes bloating is definitely there and on regular use , sometimes get constipated . I just use it for pancakes , I will work on avoiding that too .
Btw, I think you meant sucrose. Sucralose is Splenda.
yes. corrected.
first time commenting here…I also do not like store-bought bars but urs look tempting…..
Looks Delicious. Will try this combination next. I think adding the dessicated coconut will give it an unique flavour.Thanks.
Bee, what a great idea… I have to try making it. Sounds perfect for mid afternoon… right about now
oooh! these look good.
I was thinking of making something like a lara bar.Perfect, I’ll be giving these a shot soon.
These sound super-healthy. The idea of anything raw usually turns me off, but this sounds very doable and delicious.
You can choose your own ingredients and personalize the bars:
http://www.youbars.com/
Between the Charles Schultz quote and your recipe, I’m smiling from ear to ear.
Thanks for this post and all the information sharing. I have been experimenting with a spicy version of a cereal bar. I did use dates as the binding agent, but I guess the other ingredients that formed the bar were large and I did get the binding I was looking for. Perhaps I should increase the ratio of dates.
My bar contained dates + tamarind paste + coriander + chopped up pita chips (baked) + brown rice crispies. I was trying to capture Bhel puri in a bar. First experiment was not so successful. I will need to tinker some more. I might use some ingredients from your paste list. Thanks for the ideas.
And, interesting use of sprouted wheat!
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