Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to finish up our three-part series on Real Food Sports Nutrition. This and my previous two posts (Part 1 and Part 2) have been written for the benefit of anyone leading a vigorous lifestyle — whether through organized sports, casual recreation, serious outdoor adventure, farmland labor, or yard chores.
If you engage in an activity that works up a sweat and a craving for real food and drink, you’ve come to the right place!
Is there a nutrient-dense snack bar that will refuel our loved ones during recreational or physically demanding events? Could there be more than one? Yes and yes.
The “Right” Sports Bar
First off, it is simply false that an athletic person or a recreational family has only one choice for nourishment and refueling during their events. Successful advertising compels us to believe that shiny, sparkly, tightly-packaged, individually-wrapped “sports bars,” “protein bars,” “energy bars” and the like are necessary for success. In fact, you must figure out just the “right one” and perhaps then you’ll have more athletic success!
Question that mentality. It takes few ingredients and little time to create a plentitude of real food bars you can package in your own way.
Snack Bars You Can Make!
Today I’m sharing with you three recipes I have conjured up in my ever-active kitchen. Our five children (and their parents) love these bars. We usually keep some on hand in the refrigerator to use for sports events.
But we don’t limit them to recreation! We use these during school days, car travel, sight-seeing outings, church mornings or evening snacks. Thus, I don’t feel accurate calling them “sports bars.” We’ll call them “snack bars” . . . to be used under any circumstance. Enjoy!
Oat Nut Butter Snack Bars
Ingredients
- 4 cups rolled oats *
- 1 cup organic nut butter of choice
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 1/2 cup coconut oil can be solid or slightly melted
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
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Whiz oats in food processor until chopped up some (how much is flexible -- do what you like).
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Add additional ingredients.
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Process until well-blended.
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Pour the mix into dish of choice.
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This recipe fits well in an 8"x8" baking dish, but any other dish or pan will do.
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Place a sheet of parchment paper over the mix and flatten the mix atop the parchment paper.
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Place in refrigerator for several hours until the ingredients have hardened.
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Slice into bar sizes of your choice.
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Package separately, ready to take with you.
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Or, leave in refrigerator and take directly out of the pan for snacking.
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Keep cold for as long as possible.
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When they start to heat up, some of the oils may begin to melt and cause the bars to crumble.
Recipe Notes
I tote these in an insulated bag with an ice pack. Yum!
*For better digestion, you can soak and dehydrate the oats first.
Date Peanut Butter Snack Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups Medjool dates (pitted and pressed into the 2 cups)
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup rolled oats *
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds unsalted (raw or roasted)
- 1/2 cup semisweet dark chocolate chips **
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
Instructions
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Puree dates in food processor. (Dates can stress out an old food processor! If you are concerned, place the dates first in a small amount of warm water to soften. Then, drain and proceed with recipe.)
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Add peanut butter, coconut oil, salt and cinnamon and puree until well-blended.
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If you want your oats, seeds and chocolate chips to stay whole, transfer date blend into a bowl.
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Add oats, seeds and chocolate chips, stirring well.
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If you want your oats, seeds and chocolate chips processed into smaller chunks, dump those items right into your food processor with the date blend and puree until you're satisfied.
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Pour the mix into a dish of choice.
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This recipe fits well in an oblong baking dish.
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Place a sheet of parchment paper over the mix and flatten the mix atop the parchment paper.
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Lift up parchment and sprinkle sesame seeds on mix.
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Place parchment atop the mix again; press sesame seeds lightly into the top.
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Place in refrigerator for several hours until the ingredients have hardened.
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Slice into bar sizes of your choice.
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Package separately, ready to take with you.
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Or, leave in refrigerator and take directly out of the pan for snacking.
-
Keep cold for as long as possible.
-
When they start to heat up, some of the oils may begin to melt and cause the bars to crumble.
Recipe Notes
I tote these in an insulated bag with an ice pack. Yum!
*For better digestion, you can soak and dehydrate first; if you are grain-free, you can omit the oats and add 1/2 cup of seeds.
** Or these no-sugar, stevia-sweetened chocolate chips.
Cocoa Flax Bars
Ingredients
- 4 cups rolled oats *
- 1/2 cup flax seeds whole, then grind
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 3/4 cup raw honey
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
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Puree oats in food processor until satisfied with their consistency.
-
Add additional ingredients.
-
Process until well-blended.
-
Pour the mix into a dish of choice.
-
This recipe fits well in an 8"x8" baking dish, but any dish or pan will do.
-
Place a sheet of parchment paper over the mix and flatten the mix atop the parchment paper.
-
Place in refrigerator for several hours until the ingredients have hardened.
-
Slice into bar sizes of your choice.
-
Package separately, ready to take with you.
-
Or, leave in refrigerator and take directly out of the pan for snacking.
-
Keep cold for as long as possible.
-
When they start to heat up, some of the oils may begin to melt and cause the bars to crumble.
Recipe Notes
I tote these in an insulated bag with an ice pack. Yum!
*For better digestion, you can soak and dehydrate first.
You Can Be Flexible!
These snack bar recipes will ease your planning as you prepare to feed and refuel your family with real food during athletic and physically demanding events. I encourage you to be flexible with these recipes. As you can see, all of these bars have a very, very similar method. Mix and match, play with the ingredients that best fit your family’s tastes and dietary needs, explore, create some new bar recipes and . . . please do share those real food recipes with the rest of us!
Which of these recipes will be most popular in your house? Does making snack bars now seem more doable to you?
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Thanks for sharing these delicious recipes! Can’t wait to try the chocolate version!
You’re welcome, Natalia! I hope you enjoy them. God bless, Jenna 🙂
May have to give these a try! Hazel enjoys eating “bars” and baking with me, so this could be a great snack for her!
Hi Katie, let me know how bar-making goes, and whether your girls like them. Remember, you can always curtail ingredients according to your family’s liking. God bless! Jenna 🙂
Sharing on my FB fan page – nice!
Thanks, Adrienne. I’m glad you enjoyed this post. Hopefully you will find these recipes helpful and tasty. Thanks for sharing the post with your readers. I enjoy following your insights on Whole New Mom! God bless, Jenna 🙂
Jenna, thank you for the recipes. I have (as of today) now made all three versions of the snack bars for my family, and all of us (even the very picky among us) love all of them. I love having a nutrient-dense, slightly sweet snack on hand–as part of a snack when we all get home from school and work, to take in a lunch box (I substitute sunflower seed butter in that case.), or as a healthy dessert alternative. I make a half a recipe, since that seems to be about what we consume in a week. Thanks again!
Holly, this is what I love to hear! I’m so glad these recipes I’ve shared are enjoyed by the members of your family, and that you’re finding them nutrient-dense and suitable in a variety of life situations. Great! God bless you and your family, Jenna 🙂
Jenna, I’m so glad to have found your site. My kids all participate in club swim and have some tough workouts, etc. Lately, we’ve heard of parents giving their kids things like sports drinks, energy chews, protein shakes, and muscle milk. Some of those things, they say are used for recovery after practice and some are used during the meets. My husband and I just shake our heads and feel that it probably isn’t too healthy for them. It makes us wonder how those items will affect them later? These kids are still young. The only recovery we’ve given our kids is chocolate milk after a rigorous workout. We were told to do that within 30 minutes of practice for the most benefit.
Anyway, my question is regarding the coconut, coconut oil, and coconut water. As someone who has had allergic reactions to coconut in the past, is there something else I can use as a subsitution and still have a great tasty and healthy sport nutritional bar or drink? I don’t think my kids have the same issues I do, but it would be nice if I would get to enjoy them too. Thanks!
Hi Ester, Thanks for your feedback and questions. In terms of a replacement for coconut oil, have you ever looked into palm oil? I’ve seen ‘shortening’ made from palm oil which might be good, because (like coconut oil) it would be a more solid state at room temp (v. something like olive oil). Perhaps that would be a good replacement for you. You can take shredded coconut out of any of my recipes. It’s usually just there to add texture or taste. For coconut water replacement (I assume you’re referring to my sports drink recipes), I would just do water, sea salt, honey, and the lime or lemon. The coconut water does add electrolytes and some nutrition. But it is not absolutely essential. You could consider replacing the coconut water with water kefir too, which would add probiotics. I hope this feedback helps! God bless, Jenna 🙂
Just found these recipes. I can’t wait to try them. Would I be able to exchange the flax seed for chia seed?
Hi Jacki, I hope you enjoy the snack bars! I believe using Chia seeds in exchange for the Flax seeds would be just fine. I haven’t done it myself, but perhaps I’ll try that soon so I can report back. If you do, let us know how they work out. God bless, Jenna
Hello, I am allergic to coconut and almond. Can you give me an substitution for the recipes for the coconut oil and shredded coconut? Thanks!
Hi Kimberlee – The shredded coconut simply adds texture, so I wouldn’t worry about substituting anything for it. Your question on coconut oil is a bit more difficult. Hmmm . . . What about trying butter? Let us know how this works. Jenna 🙂