Comments on: Primal Energy Bar Redux: Making a Better Bar

By: Angie

Angie — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:37:16 +0000

These look great, thanks for the recipe! If you like coconut, and don’t have whey (or don’t want to use it) you can probably sub out coconut flour for the whey powder.

FYI – I’ve found dried unsweetened blueberries and cranberries at Trader Joe’s. I’m sure any co-op or health food store would have them also.

By: How to Stay Healthy in College | Mark's Daily Apple

How to Stay Healthy in College | Mark's Daily Apple — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:50:52 +0000

[...] could be as simple as a tub of Primal protein bars for the early morning run to your 8:00 class, or it could mean skipping the meal plan entirely if [...]

By: EL

EL — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:49:03 +0000

I’ve never tried using frozen berries in this recipe, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work – as long as you make sure the berries are well-spaced out. Don’t add too many! Fresh and frozen berries will release a lot of moisture while baking, so too many berries could mean soggy bars.

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:02:09 +0000

I made a batch of these yesterday and they turned out delicious. I subbed unsweetened raisins for the berries since I couldn’t find any unsweetened cranberries or blueberries. Still just as sweet and tasty in my opinion. I also added a second egg since my mixture looked like it would have been very crumbly.

I wonder if adding fresh and/or frozen berries would work in this. I always have frozen berries on hand. Any thoughts?

By: FlyNavyWife

FlyNavyWife — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:02:41 +0000

no idea… that’s why I’m desperate for a food dehydrator.

By: FlyNavyWife

FlyNavyWife — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:02:16 +0000

I just made some (slightly altered the recipe) and oil came to the top of mine too… I think that’s normal. If you let it cool for 20 minutes or so, the oil soaks back in making them totally moist and yummy.

By: alex

alex — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:38:51 +0000

I have made a batch of this every week for a couple of months now – great stuff!

I have halved the prep time by doing the following:

-cut out steps 1 & 2 by using more almond flour instead of toasting and grinding the nuts (smash the pecans in a mortar and pestle without toasting

mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl
then add the wet ingredients – only uses 1 bowl.

i also only use 1 scoop of protein powder as I find 2 scoops gives a strange crumbly texture to the bars.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:49:46 +0000

I made these the other day per the directions, except I didn’t use any protein powder.

They taste good, but, were definitely a little crumbly. After some time in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap, they did maintain the bar shape. (I used the crumbs like granola and put them in my yogurt. The crumbs could probably be eaten like cereal with raw milk.)

I will make these again, but, with another egg.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:51:09 +0000

I don’t think you’ll really notice the coconut flavor in the bars themselves. A little extra vanilla extract perhaps? They don’t have much of a coconut flavor IMHO.

The almond butter will cover the coconut oil flavor when you mix that together. Oats are a grass and rice is a grain so neither are considered Primal. They are on the list of items to use minimally so if you really don’t like the bars with coconut you could use those substitutes but I would try it with the coconut first.

By: livesimply

livesimply — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:31:33 +0000

This looks fantastic! Wondering what I could substitute for the coconut–one of the few things I REALLY don’t like. I know I can leave it sprinkled off the top, but what about in the mix? Maybe just more nuts? or some steel cut oats as mentioned above? Any suggestions appreciated.
Oh, Mark and anyone else–what do you think of rice bran oil (instead of coconut oil)?
THANKS from a newbie!