Regular readers will know I’ve written about food for cycling and also my attempts to bake bread.

The energy bars, gels and drinks I bought in the early days were mostly very nice; easy to carry and did their intended job. But they were too expensive to keep using. Better alternatives are breakfast bars and Soreen. They won’t break the bank, but would be considered, like the cycling food, ultra processed. I have thought about making my own, but always thought it wasn’t worth the hassle. Added to that my bread was disappointing. This weekend I finally gave it a go.

I only wanted to create a small amount, I remembered having to eat very underwhelming bread for a few days after each failure.

Having just eaten my first flapjack, I am impressed. They taste okay and only having three ingredients means they are definitely not like the commercial products I will no longer be buying.

To qualify my statement a little, there are more than just three foods in them. The main constituent is Tesco fruit muesli which contains mostly dried fruit, then oats, wheat and barley flakes. I added strong flour left over from my bread making and date syrup, plus a little water to help everything mix together. Why strong flour? It was in the cupboard and wasn’t going to be used otherwise. I know it’s high in gluten, but I don’t have an allergy to it. Not sure if it has affected the taste or makeup of the finished product. Maybe I’ll try normal flour next time to investigate any difference.

Compared to those other bars I’ve reduced the  saturated fat by removing palm and coconut oil. They are also better  environmentally, palm oil normally comes from intensively farmed sources that cause habitat and animal loss.  

Here is the recipe; for four roughly similar sized bars to shop bought items:

100grm Tesco Fruit muesli.

50grm Strong flour.

30grm Date syrup.

Nutrition:

Per 180grm                                            Per wonky shaped bar.                

Calories: 600.4 kcal                            150kcal

Fat: 4.85grm                                           1.2grm                                                                   

Saturated: 0.95grm                             0.27grm

Carbs: 121.4grm                                     55grm

Sugar: 48.15grm                                    12grm

Protein: 15.9grm                                    3.9grm

Fibre: 12.9grm                                        3.2grn

Salt: 6.12mg                                             1.5mg

Cost is 68p or 18p each.

I might add seeds to boost the protein, but I’m primarily interested in energy. Protein is better for after exercise for recovery. So I could tweak the ingredients and make some with that in mind.

Mixed together with a small amount of water and bake for about 30 mins at 200 degrees, or until it looks done.

I now have to finish the processed bars and I’ll then make another batch.