One of the continual and silly challenges of my busy adult life is finding time to eat. Many of my meals are gulped down in the car between one errand and the next. Sometimes – this is really bad – I actually forget to eat. OK, not exactly forget but I keep moving it down the priority list and then before you know it, it’s 4 p.m. and I am stupidly hypoglycemic. This, my friends, is how you end up scarfing shame tacos and fries like a refugee, only to find yourself later filled with regret and heartburn. In an effort to avoid such incidents, I’ve begun seeking out recipes for fast (who has time for lengthy prep?), nourishing foods you can throw in your bag. To that end, I present:
20 Minute Energy Bars
Prep: 10 minutes
Bake time: 10 minutes
- 1 ¼ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- ½ cup peanut butter (substitute tahini if you like – I’ve tested both; equally delicious)
- ½ cup agave syrup or honey
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 365. Combine oats, sesame seeds, raisins, and chocolate chips in a bowl. Separately, microwave peanut butter for 30 seconds on high to liquefy. Add to bowl with other ingredients. Mix well. Spoon mixture into a greased 9×9 pan and flatten. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 12 servings.
Hack: To save time and simplify the cutting, I used my Perfect Brownie Pan. Instant bars!
Auli'i
I make something very similar. I will also substitute roasted almond butter for the peanut butter. Almond butter has more nutritive bang for your caloric buck. Super handy. It’s also ridiculously easy to make your own fruit roll ups if you like that kind of thing.