Primal Energy Bar Redux: Making a Better Bar
When you talk, we listen. You loved the Primal Energy Bar recipe we featured in September, but the comment section lit up with suggestions about how to modify and improve the recipe.
Specifically, you guys wanted to up the protein ante, with commenter Paul recommending adding a few scoops of protein powder, and Anna offering some great suggestions for firming up what was originally a pretty fragile bar (because, lets face it, eating your protein bar with a spoon kind of defeats the purpose!)
So with that, we went to our unofficial Mark’s Daily Apple kitchen to put it to the test! There were a couple of missteps (and even one small toasting incident that could have constituted a fire!) but we think we’ve finally nailed it.
The following is the new and improved official Mark’s Daily Apple Primal Energy Bar:
Primal Energy Bar Recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup almond butter (although cashew, hazelnut, walnut and even pumpkin butters will work well too!)
1/4 cup coconut oil (check your local health food store)
1/4 cup almond meal (simply pulse approximately 1/4 cup of almonds until it creates a coarse flour)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of raw honey (although, this is really kind of optional because the egg will help hold the mixture together)
1/2 cup unsweetened whey protein powder (or 60g)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries or blueberries
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut to sprinkle on top
Method:
- On a cookie sheet, toast nuts and shredded coconut until golden brown. In order for them to cook evenly, you need to shake up the tray at least once during cooking…trust us!
- Once toasted, pour mixture into a food processor and pulse until nuts are chopped and the mixture becomes coarsely ground (sort of the consistency of bread crumbs).
- In a mixing bowl, melt coconut oil and almond butter (about 30 seconds). Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.
- Add vanilla extract, honey and sea salt. Mix thoroughly.
- Fold in nut mixture, almond meal and protein powder until mixed thoroughly.
- Add whole egg and mix thoroughly.
- Fold in blueberries/cranberries.
- Press mixture into an 8 by 8 loaf pan (a modification that we made to keep everything crisper and help the bars to hold together).
- Cook in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle a ¼ cup of shredded coconut on top and place under broiler until top begins to brown.
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Cut into 12 pieces/bars.
- Enjoy or stack on wax paper/parchment and store in an airtight container.
Note: You can also add dark chocolate chips instead of the cranberries/blueberries (available at Whole Foods or health food store). If you add the chips while the mixing bowl is warm (from the coconut oil/almond butter mixture), they will melt into the mixture and you will have yourself a chocolate primal bar. Alternatively, you can just let the mix cool, then add the chips, then refrigerate the pan to get chocolate chip primal bars. The bars stick together pretty well without being cooked.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition for 1/12 of the batch. Nutritional breakdown courtesy of FitDay.com:
Calories: 184
Fat: 15.4 grams
Carbohydrates: 6.4 grams
Protein: 7.5 grams
And, for those of you who feared they would eat the whole pan… the total nutritional breakdown for the whole darn lot!
Calories: 2,206
Fat: 184.3 grams
Carbohydrates: 77.2 grams
Protein: 90.1 grams
That’s 1659 calories from fat, 309 calories from carbs and 360 calories from protein. Or 72% fat, 14% carbs and 16% protein. A pretty decent Primal balance.
Give ‘em a try and let everyone know what you think in the comment boards!
Further Reading:
10 Delicious DIY Salad Dressings
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Posted By: Worker Bee
Err, just been readin up and discovered almonds contain a higher ration of phyla/P enzyme than other grains. May not be so healthy after all, especially with the oxidative effect of heating nuts. Can anyone more qualified shed light on this…?
Can these be made without the protien powder? if so what would be a suitable substitute?
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400930/Are-Roasted-Nuts-Unhealthy.html
Mark, the bars look great and I will be making them for my son. I have to say I was a little shocked and a lot dismayed by the fact that you endorse using a microwave to do anything with food. Microwaves change the molecular structure of food. I have stopped using mine except to warm up flax seed bags. Expensive warmer, I know. But I’m now (thanks to you) more interested in eating food how it was meant to be eaten vs. changing the molecular structure of it and then expecting it to truly feed my body. Just putting it out there.
Great Recipe! I added two egg whites instead of whole eggs, also a 1/2 cup flax meal and a teaspoon of baking soda. Put them in a 8 X 11 pan and cut into 24…around 110 calories each…I think…still working on the nutritional breakdown.
This sounds delicious to me i was looking for some energy recipes as i have just joined the gym.
You might try using coconut flour in this recipe. You can buy it at Whole Foods. It adds a nice flavor and texture to both raw and baked protein bars.
These are awesome! I tweaked a little bit: instead of t?!e dried cranberries and blueberries (which I simply could NOT find without added sugar and- ?!- vegetable oil), I used 1/4 c dried cherries (which I WAS able to find with no added ingredients) and 1/4 c dark chocolate chips. Yum. I’ve been looking for a good recipe for homemade energy bars for a while (my husband works 2 very physically demanding jobs, and I want to give him an alternative to canned energy drinks). These really seem to fit the bill. Thanks, Mark! You rock!
I did a few things differently. I used my food processor and with one of the attachments I shaved the whole almonds and I pulverized the coconut. I even processed the 1/4 cup which was intended for the top of the bars. I set aside the 1/4 cup of coconut for use later. I did not have any of the “butters” mentioned, so I made my own. I took 1/4 cup of almonds, mixed it with the coconut oil, salt, vanilla, everything else…except for the coconut and almonds that I toasted. I used cranberries. They were processed along with everything else. When the almonds and coconut were toasted I added 1/2 cup of dark chocolate to the warm mixture. Allowed it to cool and then added everything together. Instead of making bars I made cookies. Instead of adding the coconut later and putting them under the broiler I coated the cookies with the coconut and then baked them for about 15 minutes, convection bake at 325*…they are a great energy bar. Thanks for the recipe.
If the ingredients are more uniform in size and mixed in a food processor I believe you would have better results. When there is little to hold the batter together, such as flour, etc., you would benefit by processing the ingredients so they blend together and hold together during the baking process. That is my opinion. I baked them as cookies, not bars, processed the ingredients well and the cookies are not dry and they are not crumbly. Hope this helps.