Round 1: Fudgey Clif-ish bars

There she is. My first power bar! I am naming it the Fudgey Clif-ish bar, mainly because this recipe was modeled after Clif bars. Mine was better though, duh. And that is not a biased opinion at all.

I figured I would start with the first page of this power bar cookbook and carry on through the book, kinda like that movie about Julia Child. So here we go!

Gather these things:
     Wet
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup honey (maple syrup or agave nectar will work too)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter (you can use any nut butter here) 

     Dry
- 1 cup pitted, soft dates (packed fairly well, but not to the point that you are ruining their shape)
- 1 cup puffed kamut (puffed rice, puffed wheat, or any puffed cereal you prefer will work too)
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup chopped almonds (or any nut you prefer)
- 3 Tablespoons natural cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup Jay Robb's chocolate egg white protein powder, or 1.5 scoops of this particular powder (any whey/vegan protein powder you prefer, just know that each scoop will be a different size)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs

Directions:
- Choose your pan for how thin/how many bars you want (the book recommends a 9 inch square pan, I chose a 8 x 11 inch pan for thinner bars). Cover pan in parchment paper/foil, then spray with non-stick oil
- Add the dates to your warm water to soften, leave them in for 5-10 minutes
- Add the puffed kamut, oats, chopped nuts, cocoa powder, protein powder, and cacao nibs to a large bowl, stir together.
- Drain your softened dates, and then put them in food processor. Pulse until they are finely chopped. Add bowl of dry ingredients, mix well.
- In a small saucepan, heat peanut butter and honey over medium-low, until mixture is melted and bubbly (do not leave it on for so long that it caramelizes, it should only take 2-4 minutes)
- Remove from heat, add in salt and vanilla.
- Immediately pour mixture from saucepan into your bowl of dry ingredients. Mix until coated (it should start looking like a paste, or a the texture of a clif bar).
- Transfer the mixture into your prepared pan. Place parchment paper over the mixture and press/flatten/spread it until it takes up the space in the pan. Cool for about 1 hour, or until firmly set.
- Lift liner from pan onto a cutting board, cut into your desired amount of bars. (I cut mine into 28 bars)
- Eat!!!

First, the dates take a bath.



Then add all of the listed dry ingredients.



Mix, mix, mix.



Then pulse the dates in a food processor.

Mmmm ooey, gooey mess.

Don't forget to spray your pan! I did until the last second, haha. I used coconut oil because I don't mind a hint of coconut. These aren't being baked, so choose your spray wisely!

Then add your honey and peanut butter, heat and stir! At first I tried to cut back on the honey, and do only 1/4 of a cup. Mistake. I didn't have nearly enough liquid to bind everything together, so I went back and added the rest of the honey, and a little almond milk too (about 1/8th of a cup).



Then pour the mixture from the saucepan into your dry ingredients. After mixing it thoroughly, plop it into your pan and start pressing!







And then taste test. This is probably the most important part! Mike happened to show up right as I was done. Coincidence? I think not. But he loved them! The gooey texture and the cocoa powder made them a fudge delight.



To store the bars, I individually wrapped them and put them in the freezer. I knew I was going to eat them over a few weeks, and the recipe says they will last at room temperature for only 3 days. Definitely not risking them going bad!

I would recommend individually wrapping if you are going to be leaving them in a bag all day, like I did. They don't melt or anything, but they do get easy to bend. So if they were wrapped together and they happened to get sat on, they would join together.



After taste testing a few too many dried fruits/nuts/gooey bites of deliciousness, I ended my day with a shot of Apple Cider Vinegar. I love Bragg's brand because it is unfiltered and raw. For me, it's a quick way to cure my aching sweet tooth. I find that when I eat sweets in the morning, I will want them all day. This isn't for everyone, and I would definitely recommend a chaser of water...and consider plugging your nose... :).

Here are the nutrition facts if you make 28 bars like I did. I used the My Fitness Pal app to plug in my ingredients, it's one of my favorite food tracking apps. 

Recipe name

Energy bar 1 – Fudgey Clif-ish Bar

Number of servings

Serves 28 people

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein		Sodium		Sugar
365 - Dates (Pitted), 24 Pieces (40g)	440	120	0		4		0		100
Arrowhead Mills - Organic Puffed Kamut Cereal, 1 cup (15g)	50	11	0		3		0		0
Jay Robb Egg White Protein Powder Chocolate - Protein Shake, 1.5 scoop 33g	180	6	0		36		570		0
Hershey's - Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 3 Tbsp.	30	9	2		0		0		0
Quaker Oats - Old Fashioned 100% Natural Whole Grain, 1 cup dry	300	54	6		10		0		2
Trader Joes - 50% Less Salt, Dry Roasted and Salted Almonds, 1/4 cup	180	6	16		7		60		1
Trader Joe's - Creamy Unsalted Peanut Butter From Unblanched Peanuts, 6 tbsp	570	21	48		21		0		3
Trader Joe's - Organic Raw Honey, 115.5 g	330	94	0		0		0		88
Sunfood Superfoods - Organic Raw Cacao Nibs, 1 oz (3 tablespoons)	171	8	13		4		15		0
Total:	2,251	329	85		85		645		194
Per Serving:	80	12	3		3		23		7

The totals are listed, so you can divide it out for however many bars you decide to make. 

I normally prefer a little more protein and a little less sugar in my bars, but for a post workout snack with no preservatives and all ingredients that I can pronounce, its not too shabby! Let me know how yours turn out!