A homemade gluten free energy bars which is endlessly customizable and made with your favorite healthy nuts and dried fruits.
A homemade gluten free energy bars which is endlessly customizable and made with your favorite healthy nuts (continue reading...)
A homemade gluten free energy bars which is endlessly customizable and made with your favorite healthy nuts and dried fruits.
Energy bars are easy source of nutrition, and you can make it in different flavors to satisfy your own unique palate and your own limitations. You are able to make your own energy bar at home in few easy steps.
I recommend you to use ingredient low in saturated fat and sugars, with a decent amount of protein and fiber in order to provide a nutritious, satisfying snack. There are a lot of energy bar in the market that obviously mimic a candy bar without nutrition values. For example, some bars covered in chocolate contain a lot of saturated fat and others contain lots of sugar. However, what we are talking about is a homemade energy bar that you make at home to take as a snack in your mid day.
Energy bars which are mostly made of fruit and nuts, can be used as a satisfying snack. But just keep in mind that energy bars contain calories and if you are eating a bar to keep you going until next meal, restrict it to 150 to 200 calories per bar. I would like to emphasize that energy bars shouldn’t replace the whole foods, like fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains which provide valuable nutrients and are essential both for your energy production and your overall health.
What are the benefits of eating energy bar?
The homemade version of them are packed with vitamins and minerals, which can help fill nutritional gaps. However, I do not recommend using a bar as your main meal.
Are energy bars healthy for you?
Depends on the ingredients, energy bars contain as many as 150 - 500 calories. If you're eating a bar as a snack at your work, know how much calories your bar contain. My recommendation is stay in the level of less than 200 calories per bar. Taking sweetened bar is not a good idea as each gram of sugar provide 4 additional calories to your body.
Can energy bars slim you down?
I get this question very frequently. Lots of people think energy bars are a good solution (AKA short-cut) for weight loss. Not really! There are few drawbacks in here. When the purpose is slimming, you may substitute the main meals like breakfast with snack bar. In a long run this change in healthy eating habit, leads to a verity of nutrition deficiencies which is not good for your overall health. Some people start with the idea of one meal replacement by snack bar and shortly after, they end up eating the bar in addition to that meal, increasing their daily calory intake. Therefore, they not only do not slim down, but they actually can also make you gain weight instead!
Can energy bars make you gain weight?
The answer is yes! The truth is, energy snacks are good for people who are doing physical activity regularly. In other words, due to the high calory content of energy bars, eating them without exercising will result in weight gain.
When is the best time to eat energy bar?
considering you make your own energy bar from healthy fat, fruits, and nuts, it is best eaten 1–2 hours before your workout and you can take it with you as a convenient source of fuel at your desk. If you make a protein bar, you can use it after workout to nourish and build your muscles.
Homemade Gluten Free Energy Bar
Homemade Gluten Free Energy Bars are convenient, healthier, and low-cost alternative to commercial energy bars. Particularly you can use your creativity and add or remove ingredients according to your taste and conditions to suit you. Your personalized snack bar can contain your favorite dried fruits, nut butter, nuts and seeds and healthy sweeteners to make the energy bar that you enjoy.
The recipe below is not an order! You can make anyway suits you and use any combination you like. Use your own creativity!
Use walnuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or pumpkin seeds stand alone or in any combination you wish.
As of dried fruit, use raisins, cranberries, cherries, pineapple, apricot, goji berries or even other fruit you may like in any combination.
Ingredients:
× 3/4 cup nut butter, almond, peanut, sunflower, cashew butter (any combination or alone as you wish)
× 3/4 cup, liquid natural sweeteners such as honey, gluten-free brown rice syrup
× 1 1/2 cups seeds, almond, peanut, sunflower, cashew, sesame seed, pumpkin seed,
× 1 cup dried fruit, unsulfured
× 4 cups gluten-free rice crispy cereal
× 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
× 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
× 4 Medjool dates , pitted
How to make it:
× Preheat oven to 350 °F.
× In a food processor, pulse almonds, walnuts, pecans etc. until you have a coarsely ground nut meal.
× Add pitted Medjool dates and pulse again until well mixed.
× Transfer to a large bowl and stir in vanilla extract, sea salt, goji berries, raisins, pumpkin seeds and honey or brown rice syrup.
× Press in a pan lined with parchment
× Bake around 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
× Allow to cool, then cut to desired size.
× Enjoy!
Reminder: Always make sure to read the label of ingredients for gluten free and keep your work surfaces, utensils, pans, and tools free of gluten.
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