The beauty of making your own energy bars is that you know exactly what they've got in them. Plus, they generally work out cheaper than buying all your nutrition from a shop...
Makes 25 x 50g bars
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 25mins
Equipment needed A saucepan; mixing bowl; baking sheet; baking parchment or greaseproof paper
Ingredients
150g dried cherries
75g whole almonds, husk on
75g brazil nuts
75g walnuts
75g pumpkin seeds
250g large rolled oats
200g butter
170g clear honey
225g brown sugar
Instructions
1 Preheat your oven tp 200C/gas mark 6-7. Cut baking parchment to fit your baking sheet. Chop all the nuts into small pieces (you can use a food processor, but take care not to turn them to dust). Chop the cherries, and then mix them with the oats and nuts in a large bowl.
2 Put the sugar, honey and butter into a saucepan. Slowly bring everything to the boil and cook for 5-8mins, until the movement of bubbles slows and the mix has turned light brown. Take care not to let it burn.
3 Combine the hot sugar, honey and butter mix with the oats, cherries and nuts. Stir well, and spoon onto your baking sheet while the mixture is still warm. Pack it down using a spatula or the back of a spoon. If you don't do this, the bars won't hold their shape when cooked.
4 Bake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for 12-15mins, until the surface of the mix is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack, then cut into bars or squares, ready for your next training session.