Carbohydrates and protein are endurance athlete’s friends. They provide fuel to keep the body going. If you find yourself with 5km to go on your run and feeling dangerously low on energy, you would be so glad if you reach into your back pocket and find a cereal bar.

But, did you know that you can make a healthy bars recipe on your own?

If you constantly go on endurance challenges, then you might want to consider making your own healthy bar recipe.

Mid-Performance Fueling

If you watch ultramarathon races, bike races, and triathlons, you’d notice that the athletes would sometimes take food and snacks and eat on the go. This helps refuel their body so they have enough energy for that last push to the finish line.

Some of the key components included in these mid-ride snacks are carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

With that, it is important to know when and how to refuel during an endurance sport.

Planning your Refuel Points

Much like when taking a long drive, you plan when to get gas for your vehicle along the route. It’s the same when you go on long runs by planning your refueling points. Now, there are no two athletes who are the same with their needs. It would depend on their training, their body, and their metabolism. But a good starting point would be to eat 20 grams of carbohydrates every 30 minutes.

For example, during a 21km run, you may want to eat a cereal bar every 30 to 60 minutes. Some may even consider a quick break during the halfway point.

Of course, it is best to test this during your training. Learn how to listen to your body and when you need to take in food and water. Ideally, you eat even before you start feeling that you need it.

How to Refuel

This would not be a huge problem when running, you can easily peel a nutrition bar and eat it while on the go. You can bring bars and snacks in your waist bag or pockets. The important thing is your timing. Plan when to take them during your run by keeping your eye on your time and distance.

Remember to keep your nutrition bars in easy to reach pockets so you can take a few bites when you need them.

Why you Need a Healthy Bar Recipe

Have you ever tried running on a near-empty stomach? Not a good experience, isn’t it? Your body needs fuel. No matter how fit you are and how much you have trained, if you want to perform at a high level for long periods of time, you will need to provide your body with the right fuel.

There are a lot of commercially available food and drinks that are designed for you to take on a run, ride, or even as a healthy snack at home. Energy gels, bars, bananas, carbohydrate drinks are just some good examples of things to pack for your next marathon or long run.

If you love to do endurance sports and know your way around the kitchen, then maybe it is best to do your own healthy bar recipe. It’s cost-efficient, you can customize it to your needs, and it can be fun!

How to Make a Healthy Bars Recipe

There are two things that you need to consider when you want to know how to make healthy snack bars on your own:

1. Convenience
2. Your preferences

Convenience comes in many forms. First thing is that the ingredients you choose should be conveniently available to you. If not, then it might be better to get commercially available bars, now isn’t it?

Another point to convenience is to avoid too many liquids in your healthy bars recipe to avoid it becoming too soggy and difficult to eat while on the go. You want it to be firm, solid, and not have a hard time peeling off the paper wrapper.

Then, of course, you would want to choose ingredients that are perfect for your preferences and even needs.

Healthy Bars Recipe Ingredients

This is an easy homemade healthy snack bars recipe that you can prepare quickly. And the best part is, this doesn’t require any skill in baking at all!

First, you will need the following ingredients:

• 1-Minute Oats
• Peanut Butter (you can use almond butter for a healthier option)
• Coconut Oil
• Honey
• Almonds
• Mix-Ins

Where the customization part usually comes in is the mix-ins. Some people love raisins, there are people who hate them. Some want a more direct sugar kick, others want their healthy bars recipe with more berries.

Some great ideas for mix-ins are chocolate chips, dried berries, almonds and other nuts, and many more. Let your imagination run wild!

Healthy Bar Recipe Process

Now on to making your own healthy snack bars!

1. Place almonds, oats, and mix-ins into a bowl and pulse them.
2. Melt the honey with the peanut butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
3. Mix the melted honey and butter into the mixture. Stir well.
4. Prepare a baking dish and pour the ingredients in.
5. Spread and press the mixture so that they’re roughly an inch thick.
6. Place in the refrigerator overnight to cool.
7. Cut into pieces and wrap!

While this is a relatively simple recipe, this can open the door for you to experiment and find new ways to make your own healthy bars recipe. You can build upon this to create new flavors to enhance your experience.

You can also work with your doctor, nutritionist, or trainer for ideas on what to include in your nutritional bars.

So what are you waiting for? Go on and try to make your own healthy bars recipe. You might even be able to sell this to your mates while on a ride or run.