Clif Bar Alternative II Recipe

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Clif Bar Alternative II

I've been trying to come up with an alternative recipe for Clif Bars. Homemade energy bars don't save a significant amount of money compared to buying Clif Bars in bulk but I wanted to come up with something that didn't contain as much Soy based products.

My first attempt was a Peanut Butter Granola Bar with Chocolate Protein Powder. Nutritionally it was very similar to the Chocolate/Peanut Butter Clif Bars. The problem with them was they were very crumbly and brittle which caused them to break apart in my pocket while hiking or trail running.

I've altered my energy bar recipe a little bit to create something that is a little softer but still provides similar nutrition. I decided to add a little bit of whole wheat flour to create a bar that's a little softer.

This new batch is a much better than the granola bar recipe in terms of texture. Here's my Clif Bar Alternative II Recipe. Makes 10 Bars.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Oatmeal (uncooked quick or old fashioned)
• 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 scoops Chocolate Flavored Whey Protein Powder (I used Pure Protein 100 % Whey Protein, Frosty Chocolate because it's what I had on hand.)
• 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 cup Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/4 cup 2% Milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. ombine oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and protein powder in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl combine honey and peanut butter. I popped this bowl in the microwave for around 40 seconds to melt the peanut butter and thin the honey which made mixing easier. In the past I've also done this in a metal bowl over a hot water bath.
4. Add milk to peanut butter and honey and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir together until combined so that there is no loose oatmeal or flour in the bowl. If necessary add a little more milk.
6. Press into a greased 9"x9" baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cooled cut into 10 bars, wrap in plastic wrap and/or foil and store in fridge.

Results:

These bars travel a lot better than the granola bars I had made previously. The addition of whole wheat flour and baking powder was just enough to give it a more cake like texture. The results are still very dense.

They are very good tasting energy bars in my opinion and I like that I know what's going in them. From a macro-nutrient perspective they are very similar to Clif Bars but they have a little more protein and less sodium. They are lacking in some of the vitamins that Clif Bars have but that doesn't concern me as much since I can get the vitamins from other sources.

Nutritional Information:

Calories and Macros:

Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
244	37.1g	6.6g	11.2g

My goal was to try to come up with a tasty treat that was nutritionally similar to Clif Bar energy bars. The primary focus was on the calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates. Below you can see the nutritional info for Clif Bars, my Clif Bar Alternative I and this Clif Bar Alternative II.

Improvements:

My baking dish has very rounded corners which makes it very difficult to into evenly sized bars. In the future I think I'll try forming the mixture into 10 evenly sized bars by hand and baking them on a cookie sheet.