Supercharged Breakfast Bars

Crumbs, I know you’ll enjoy these make-ahead Supercharged Breakfast Bars if you’re stuck in a breakfast time-warp.   Or if you’re a little bit partial to the not-so-healthy big-brand energy bars with their bold health claims, well maybe then you’ll welcome them with large pincer grips.

It turns out that sadly, commercially produced health bars are home to inflammatory ingredients such as sugar, partially-hydrogenated oils, soy protein isolate and artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. And even ones touted as healthy are cereal offenders.  With that in mind, if you do partake, you may as well be eating a Tim Tam!

You don't need to buy your fuel from a petrol station.  These easy-to-make-at-home wholesome energy bars are one of most popular recipes from my recipe book Eat Yourself Beautiful.  So high in the popularity stakes, it would appear that these little tinkers have also been involved in highly competitive bake offs and come up trumps!

Not to sound too over-confident but I'm quite sure that they would pass bake-off scrutinization well ahead of any crumbling croquembouche or Victoria Sponge oozing with Raspberry Jam.

They glow in the nutrition stakes too, with respectable levels of good fats, zinc, dietary fibre and B vitamins.  Easily transported in your bag for a quick-snatch snack, eaten as a portable breakfast or popped into a lunchbox, there’s no reason to not have them on hand when you need a little somethin’ somethin’.

Nut free? Swap out nuts with seeds such as pumpkin and sunflower and add flaxseed meal in place of almond meal.

If you’re lacking in energy, my healthy breakfast bars will pep you up in no time minus the immune system overload.

Give them a go and let me know what you think in the comments section below.

PS: Have you heard about my new Heal Your Gut eBook yet? Find out more here.

Supercharged Breakfast Bars

Ingredients (makes 8)

• Unsalted butter, or coconut oil for greasing
• 125g almond meal
• Pinch of Celtic sea salt
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 60ml coconut oil
• 60ml rice malt syrup, or sweetener of your choice
• 1 tsp alcohol-free vanilla extract
• 40g cashews, crushed
• 160g combined flaxseeds, sunflower seeds and slivered almonds
• 40g dried cranberries (optional) no additives

Method

• Preheat the oven to 175°C.
• Grease a 20 x 20 x 5 cm square ovenproof tin.
• Mix the almond meal, salt and bicarbonate of soda together in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, rice malt syrup and vanilla. Add the almond meal mixture, and mix in the nuts, seeds and cranberries, if using.
• Wet your hands and then transfer the mixture to the tin, using your hands to press down firmly on the mixture.
• Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and cool before dividing into eight bars and serving.

Storage Instructions

• These will keep in an airtight container for seven to 10 days.