Did you know that the nutritional value of an energy bar you buy from the store might be equal to a dessert, filled with calories, coconut oil, sugar etc? On the other hand, it’s a handy snack for work. What can you do?
Make them your own! If you use the appropriate ingredients, your bars can be healthy and nutritious, keep you full and definitely cost less. Find one day of the week when you’ve got time and get to work!
Since I like to get my protein from plant-based sources and not powders, I used chickpeas, peanut butter, nuts and seeds, which are also rich in fiber and vitamins and definitely more easy to find in your kitchen.
You’ll need
400 gr cooked chickpeas (you can either buy them cooked or cook them yourself, soaking them overnight and simmering them the other day for about 1 hour or till they are tender)
2 ripe bananas
2/3 cup peanut butter
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup molasses
¾ cup nuts and seeds of your own choice
¼ cup dried fruit
2/3 cup plant-based milk with no sugar
4 cups oats
Method
Preheat the oven at 180°C (350°F). Line some parchment paper on a square baking pan and sprinkle some olive oil.
Once your chickpeas are ready, rinsed and drained, put them in a blender along with the bananas, peanut butter, milk, vanilla extract and molasses and process them until smooth. Put your mixture into a bowl and add the oats, dried fruit and nuts. Stir the mixture until all the ingredients blend together. Line some parchment paper in a pan, sprinkle some oil and then add your mixture -make sure to make it smooth on top. Bake in preheated oven until the batter gets a golden brown color, crispy at the edges, for about 40 minutes. When it’s done, let it cool and cut it in bars.
Plant-based energy bars with chickpeas
