Energy protein bars — Holly Charlton Dietitian

These bars provide long-lasting energy, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals and, they have a crunch!

Perfect for any occasion and particularly as a fuelling and/or recovery snack before and after physical activity, training, a game or competition.

No specific skills are required here - they are quick, easy and fun to make.

Also, cost effective - the ingredients packaged in larger quantities can be used to make more batches in the future.

I bought the nuts and seeds from the Coles bulk bins and you can save even more dollars by selecting ingredients on sale.

Energy protein bars

Makes 12 XL bars

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup almonds
2/3 cup walnuts
2/3 cup unsalted cashews
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup quick oats
1 tbsp rice flour
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup good-quality honey
1 egg, lightly whisked

METHOD

Preheat oven to 130 degrees fan forced.

Line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper.

In a large bowl combine the almonds, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, coconut, quick oats, rice flour and salt.

Mix to combine.

Place a small saucepan on a low heat and add the olive oil and honey. Heat the mixture until warmed and it becomes a thin consistency.

Remove from the heat and pour over the dry ingredients. Add the egg.

Mix very well, making sure to coat all the ingredients - a crucial step.

Pour mixture into the lined tin, distributing ingredients evenly and pressing down very well to ensure a solid bar that doesn’t fall apart - a crucial step.

Bake for 1 hr and 15 minutes.

Leave to cool completely (a crucial step) and then cut into bars.

Enjoy!