[Stu Littlefair]

Why not spice up your life and have a happy meal instead?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25811308

[galpinos]

Why not spice up your life and have a happy meal instead?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25811308

Well, it worked for you and it seems to be working for Fiend......

[shark]

Why not spice up your life and have a happy meal instead?

Meant to make the point yesterday that as a climber I am much less concerned with glycogen recovery than having enough protein for muscle and stringy bit repair (received wisdom = 1g for every 1kg of body weight per day) but not hung up on the source as I have faith in the bodies ability to synthesize what it needs assuming there is enough quantity. Bars only win over happy meals as they are handier and more pleasant to graze on cold at the crag.   

No doubt Pete H will be along shortly to correct us and put it in a wider social context for our benefit.

[36chambers]

OK, I'm struggling with the concept here.

Just been to the supermarket & bought dates etc. and a second baking tin. But blending the stuff in a blender isn't giving me any kind of paste that looks like it would consolidate if I squash it, just ever finer loose crumbs. Do I need to add some kind of liquid? Or just squash & hope?

I typically start with a 1:1 ratio of dates to cashews, normally 1-2 Kg. Grind the nuts with a nut grinder to get a fine sawdust like texture. The dates are just generic, wrinkly, not-as-juicy-as-fancy-juicy-dates dates, that I chop as fine as I can be bothered.

With a rolling pin, I roll/fold/smoosh the chopped dates over and over, adding handfuls of the ground nuts until all the nuts are completely adopted, creating an isotropic mix of playdough-consistency nakd bar goodness.

Then I split the mix into quarters and add any addition ingredients, via more rolling and folder, to create different flavours. Cocoa and ground coffee is my current favourite.

Finally I split it all up and mould into (~20) bars, possibly around 100g each, and individually wrap them in cling film and throw them in the fridge.

At a casual pace the whole process takes between 30-60 minutes.



I wonder if there's a market for a smoosh machine, that you just pour ingredients into and it outputs energy bars, it could be the new smoothie maker.   

[Muenchener]

Not blending the dates is an interesting idea. I've done two batches so far blending everything together. The first batch - no added liquid, pressed overnight with a 20kg kettlebell - came out quite well. The second - an eggcup of liquid added as somebody suggested, 6kg press - remained playdough but didn't really approach "bar" consistency.

Still, fun to play with. There are some recipes in Steve House's book too, might have another look at those. (I'll ignore the bit where you get to eat half a bar a day washed down with a teacup of lukewarm melted snow)

[sjw]

I've had good results from heating the dates in a pan briefly to form a paste, then adding everything else, rolling into balls and dropping in cacao powder. Bit like a power bon bon.

[shurt]

I blend dates first in a mixer (type with a big blade) when they are finish, add sultanas/raisins, blend briefly, then nuts, then oats. seems to work. i had a pretty small cup and today did 2 dates, 2 sultanas, 2 cashews, 1 oats, 1 scoop protein powder, then 1.5 egg cups apple juice. seemed to turn out ok.
i think its just trial an error until you get what you want. the amount of liquid is important and a bit of a balancing act. i put too much in the other day and they were shit. blending the dates a lot needs less liquid it would seem.

anyway, good to hear other methods. I'll have to try some. using a blender I can get one batch (about 10 bars) done in about 10 mins which isnt bad.

[TobyD]

I've had good results from heating the dates in a pan briefly to form a paste, then adding everything else, rolling into balls and dropping in cacao powder. Bit like a power bon bon.

wouldn't heating up the protein powder denature it, rendering putting expensive whey protein into it
the bars a bit pointless? Thats only a first thought i haven't looked it up yet

[sjw]

wouldn't heating up the protein powder denature it, rendering putting expensive whey protein into it
the bars a bit pointless? Thats only a first thought i haven't looked it up yet

I hadn't thought of that, but the mixture isn't very hot after everything else has been added- cool enough to handle straight away. The datey paste keeps its texture after it's been in the fridge, so it would be possible to let it cool completely and then do the mixing if this is the case.

[36chambers]

anyway, good to hear other methods. I'll have to try some. using a blender I can get one batch (about 10 bars) done in about 10 mins which isnt bad.

Perhaps it's high time I get a blender