Homemade Energy Bars

The seemingly endless array of energy bars, drinks, goos, gels, gummy bloks, and jelly beans on the market is mind boggling -- jelly beans and gummy bloks with added electrolytes and/or caffeine?? I used to work at a running store, and this stuff would fly off the shelves. There is even a company out there that allows customers to create customized energy bars. Energy bars/drinks were created to give endurance athletes a boost of energy during long workouts. I guess long is somewhat subjective, but typically a workout that lasts over one hour is the threshold. After one hour, glucose [energy] stores begin to become depleted, and after two hours are completely depleted. So unless you plan to exercise for more than one hour, at a moderate to vigorous intensity level, you probably don't need the extra fuel.

Speaking of exercise, cannot wait to jump on my road bike (no, not a Harley, a Cannondale) when the weather (finally) gets nice. I like to bring an energy bar for long rides or have one before a long run. They are so incredibly easy to make and require no baking, just throw all the ingredients into a food processor and mix to incorporate. Then you can form them into bars; the dates bind all the ingredients.

I call these 'everything but the kitchen sink energy bars' since they have a little bit of this and that -- dates, pecans, peanuts, almonds, peanut butter, coconut flakes, cocoa powder -- but no added sugars or sweeteners, just the natural sweetness from the dates; the bars are not overly sweet. The peanut butter adds a nice nutty flavor, but you could easily substitute other nut butters (like cashew, almond, or even tahini).

Happy running, biking, swimming, hiking, rowing...

Makes 8 bars (each ~3 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1/2)
12 dates, seeded
1 cup chopped nuts, used combination of peanuts, pecans, and almonds
1/2 cup dried coconut
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter (or tahini, almond butter, cashew butter)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Add dates to food processor and process to smooth paste. Combine the remaining ingredients to the food processor and process until evenly incorporated (do not overmix).

Line a 9x9 pan with plastic wrap. Transfer date mixture to the pan. Flatten mixture and place plastic wrap on top. Spread out mixture, so that it is about 1/2 inch in thickness. Press against the corners of the pan to form square edges. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so. Cut into individual bars. Store in the refrigerator.