Looking after your athlete’s nutritional and fuel needs can be challenging when you want convenient snacks that provide the goods but with no sneaky ingredients. Take matters into your own hands with homemade energy bars! Doing this allows for easy and nutritious snacks without worrying about the impact of unneeded ingredients. This way, you can control what goes into the bars and maximize the output!
What Are the Benefits of Energy Bars For Youth Athletes?
Energy bars can be beneficial for youth athletes. These convenient, ready-to-eat snacks can provide a much-needed nutrition and energy boost. Nutrient-dense energy bars contain carbs, healthy fats, and protein that provide the fuel needed before the big game. The balanced treat also includes vitamins and minerals that make the perfect recipe to enhance athletic performance, build muscle mass, and support tissues.
What Ingredients Should Be Avoided in Processed Bars?
Parents, when you’re buying energy bars for your kiddos, be sure to look at the nutrition label. Energy bars are nutritious but may contain some less-than-helpful ingredients. Some ingredients to avoid are artificial sweeteners, like high fructose corn syrup and sucrose. Excess sugar might make the taste more appealing but can cause dental cavities and stomach discomfort.
Energy bars offer beneficial effects; however, some additives can cause detrimental results. These include sugar alcohols like sorbitol and xylitol, which may be subject to overprocessing. Palm oil is typically added for fat content but may be dangerous for heart health. You may also notice soy protein isolate on a nutrition facts label, and this isolate may be highly processed. These can also cause gastrointestinal troubles like gas, diarrhea, or constipation.
How to Make Your Own Energy Bars
Ingredients:
- Oats
- Honey
- Dried fruit (ex. dates)
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Peanut butter or almond butter
- Dark chocolate chips
- Almond milk
Instructions:
- To prepare your energy bars, combine all of the desired ingredients. To achieve binding, you’ll need honey and nut butter, like almond butter or peanut butter.
- Grab your food processor or blender. Add 1 or 2 cups of oats, ¼ cup of almond milk, and 1/3 cup of almond butter. Add dried fruit like dates, berries, or any fruit of your choice, along with chopped nuts like almonds or walnuts. If desired, add some salt and cinnamon.
- Blend these ingredients so that they stick together when pressed. After this, you should have a sticky and thick consistency, which will eventually become your bars.
- If you want to include dark chocolate pieces, add those in after blending your other ingredients in the food processor. Allow the chips to be mixed in evenly with your other ingredients. You can also drizzle chocolate syrup on top to make it appealing for your star athletes.
- Place this mixture on a baking tray, usually 8×8-inch lined with parchment paper. Be sure to press down evenly and firmly.
- You can place this in the refrigerator to chill for over two hours, and it will firm up and take form. After this time, you can cut your product into bars.
- If you prefer, you can bake your mixture for 15 minutes at 350 degrees in the oven, let it cool, and then place it in the refrigerator to chill and set.
How Long Do Homemade Energy Bars Last?
Homemade energy bars can be enjoyed for a good period, depending on how you store them. According to a study, the bars can last up to 15 days in the fridge and a few days if kept at room temperature.
How Should You Store Homemade Energy Bars?
It is ideal to store your homemade energy bars in the refrigerator. However, if you want to enjoy them over several months, you can also keep them in the freezer. Additionally, you will want to store your homemade treats in an airtight container.
