Thursday, May 04, 2006

A few travel recipes

Here's a recipe for some energy bars that seem like they'd be good for travel, since they've got some good nutrition and stuff. Plus, you can freeze them after you make them, and before you head out (whether in a car, on a plane, or on foot) you can throw it in your cooler or bag, and it will be ready for you when you get hungry.

Flaxen Cereal Bars
4 c. rice crispies (or whatever cereal, granola would work well too)
1 c. corn or rice syrup
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. ground flax seed
1 c. nut butter (try combining more than one type to get 1 cup)
1 c. dried fruit and/or nuts (chop it up if it's in big chunks)

In a small sauce pan, heat nut butter, syrup, and brown sugar. Don't let it boil, but warm it up so it's fairly runny. Stir in flax seed and vanilla. In a large bowl, combine cereal with fruit/nuts. Pour the nut butter mixture over the cereal and stir well, until it's all combined. Press the mixture into a well-oiled 9x13 inch pan. Refrigerate for a few hours, then cut into 24 squares or 12 rectangles. Wrap them in saran wrap or waxed paper, and keep in fridge or freezer.



These are the same idea as the other ones, but bite sized, with more ingredients. The original recipe called for apricots, which I absolutely hate, so I subbed them with more dried berries. It also called for honey, which is, like, so totally not vegan.

Granola Bites
2 Tbsp. sliced almonds, toasted
1 3/4 c. quick cooking rolled oats
1/3 c. unsweetened dried apples, finely chopped
2/3 c. unsweetened dried blueberries, cherries, and/or cranberries
2 Tbsp. raw sunflower seeds (hulled, obvi)
2 Tbsp. unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. nut butter
1/4 c. sticky sweetener, like maple syrup or corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Place almonds and 1/4 c. of the rolled oats in a food processor, and process until they become fine crumbs, about 15 seconds. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine remaining oats, dried fruit, sunflower seets, coconut, and cinnamon. Add nut butter, sweetener, and vanilla. Sumbine well, until mixture begins to stick together. Form mix into 1 inch balls (heh heh, I said balls), coat lightly with the almond/oat crumb mixture from before, and place in an airtight container. Separate layers with plastic wrap or waxed paper. Refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight. Makes 36.

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