Bants Blocking Energy Bars

Energy bars. You can't move for them these days. The range is just staggering: vegan; with protein; fat-free; all-natural. In fact the only things that they all seem to have in common are garish plastic wrappers and bloated price tags. I mean over £1.00 for less than 50g !!

So in an effort to try and do better on both counts I had a go at making my own. Below is a recipe I found at EatSleepWild

360 g mashed ripe banana about 3 large
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200 g porridge oats / quick cook oats
90 g dried fruit apricots raisins, cranberries, etc
50 g walnuts chopped
75 g sunflower seeds
80 g pumpkin seeds
60 g sliced almonds
35 g flax seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Lightly grease a large rectangular baking tray (approximately 9″ x 13″ / 23 x 33 cm) and line with a piece of parchment paper (with overhang so the bars are easier to remove.)
In a bowl, mash the banana until smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
Add the remaining ingredients to the banana mixture and stir until fully combined - a heavy thick mixture.
Spoon into the prepared tray. With lightly wet hands, smooth out until even. Press down until compacted.
Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until firm and lightly golden along the edges.
Place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then carefully slide a knife to loosen the ends and gently lift out. Place the slab on a cooling rack until completely cool.
Once cool, slice into bars. I like to use a pizza slicer as it easily cuts through the dried fruit and nuts. Leftovers can be wrapped up and stored in the fridge for a week, or stored in the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks.

To try and cut down on packaging I cut up the baking parchment from the tray for wrapping and used the skinny blue rubber bands you get from packets of herbs to hold in piece. Finally I popped 6 or 7 of these into a small freezer bag.

Taste

I was pleasantly suprised by these bars; they are not cloyingly sweet and seemed to give the burst of energy I was looking for. But, a word of warning - they are pretty chewy. Hence Bants Blockers.

Notes

Approximate nutritional info (per bar, based on 14 large bars): 186 calories, 8.7 grams fat, 22 grams carbs, 4.7 grams fibre, 6 grams sugar, 6.6 grams protein.