It is always with you, especially on long bike tours – the bar. There are specimens in an infinite number of consistency and taste variations. It's so easy to create your own favorite snack. triathlon.de presents the best recipes - and shows you vegan alternatives.
Muesli and energy bars are the classic sports snack. Various manufacturers offer an infinite number of variations and flavors - you can find them cheaply in the supermarket or at specialist retailers. It's not that difficult to bake delicious and healthy bars yourself. The effort is a bit greater than going to the store - but the price is a bit lower and you can decide for yourself and try what goes into your bars.
The ingredients
The basic ingredient is the ultimate energy bomb: oatmeal. Nuts and seeds provide minerals and important fats. Added to this is the power of dried fruit. But if you don't tolerate nuts or don't like dried fruit, you can easily double the amount of the other ingredient. Honey and butter or nut butter keep the good ingredients together and add an extra portion of taste. Vegans use nut butter instead of butter and replace honey with agave syrup.
There are no limits to the tastes: Any dried fruit (e.g. raisins, banana chips, apricots, pineapple, cranberries, etc.) and any type of nut or seed (e.g. flaxseed, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, etc.) will work in this recipe - everything try out! If you like it a little sweeter, you can also add chocolate or a little (more) peanut butter.
Recipe: granola bars
280g oat flakes (mix with spelled flakes if you like)
100g butter or nut butter (melted)
180g honey or agave syrup
120g nuts and seeds (chopped into large pieces)
120g dried fruit (roughly dice)
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp flour
chocolate chips, 1-2 tbsp chocolate cream, cocoa powder, coconut flakes (optional)
baking wafers (optional)
Alternative rice cakes
The somewhat less dry rice cakes are particularly popular with cyclists. Rice pudding, which is cooked with a little less milk than normal, provides energy and protein. This makes it even firmer and holds the delicious ingredients in place. Wrapped in aluminum foil, the rice cake fits in the jersey pocket just like a normal energy bar. Vegans use soy milk instead of "normal" milk - rice milk works less well.
Recipe: Rice Cake
500g rice pudding
1.8l milk or soy milk
400g dried fruit (roughly dice)
½ ripe banana, mashed
4 L brown sugar, vanilla sugar or honey
1 pinch of salt
cinnamon (optional)
vanilla (optional)
flaked almonds (optional)
Preparation:
Prepare rice pudding. Add the dried fruit, banana, sugar and salt and spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake at 180 degrees for about 35 minutes. The rice cake is allowed to brown a little and must cool down completely. Be sure to keep it in the fridge!
Be careful with ready-made rice pudding: It is often heavily sweetened, so you have to adjust the amount of sugar.
Photos: Ann-Christin Cordes
