DIY Trail Bars
Posted by ReadyMade
Project by Louisa Shafia; photo by Kim Cornelison
These customizable, protein-rich bars are your answer to active snacking. Packed with nuts, fruit, and grains, they equal healthy energy without excessive refined sugar. The trick is to bind the ingredients together with “glue” (chocolate, nut butter, and cane juice), which hardens to produce chewy, hearty bars that hold their shape.
--Louisa Shafia, lucidfood.com
Makes approximately 48 2×2-inch bars
Skill Level
Very Easy
Active Time
Less than an hour
Cost
$
- Canola oil or butter 3 c rolled oats
- 4 c puffed kamut or crisp rice
- 2 c dried fruit, roughly chopped
- 2 c nuts, roughly chopped
- 1⁄2 c wheat germ
- 2 c bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 c evaporated cane juice
- 2 c brown rice syrup
- 1 c almond or peanut butter
- 1 t vanilla extract 1⁄2 t salt
Materials
- Large bowl
- Baking sheet
- Rolling pin
Tools
Lightly grease a 9×13-inch rimmed baking sheet with oil or butter. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, cereal, dried fruit, nuts, and wheat germ; set aside.
Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Add the cane juice, brown rice syrup, nut butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir the mixture until smooth and heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a spatula. Coat your hands with oil or butter and mix with your hands until the dry ingredients are fully coated with the chocolate.
Pour the mixture into baking sheet, cover with a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap, and press the mixture down. Use a rolling pin to press it out to the corners of the baking sheet.
Allow to cool, then slice into bars. Wrapped well or stored in an airtight container, the bars can last for up to a month in the fridge.
