may be a naive question, but is it possible to make something at home that is equal to, or better, than a bar from sis, cliff et al? by better/equal i'm thinking more in terms of nutritional/energy value than anything.
i personally find the 40g sis energy bars work for me, easy to carry, to eat and keep me going, but i've been idly googling homemade stuff and wondering if i could do better.
I say yes - make some flapjack with dates, brazil nuts, cocoa nibs - throw whatever you fancy in there. Better (no weird chemical ingredients - even Clif bars have some pretty odd stuff in) and tastier.
.......and way cheaper!
Try Anzacs out of Mountain Café cookbook!
It depends what you want.
Energy bars are convenient as they come prewrapped and have a long life. You can keep a box in the cupboard and just grab some when you need. That said, they aren't that revolutionary so there are plenty of prewrapped biscuits/cakes and bars in a supermarket that will do a very similar job.
If you are worried about certain less than natural additives then you are covered as well. The likes of Nakd, trek, pulsin, 9bars are out there.
But you can more cheaply make your own. Loads of stuff about but essentially they are just cakes or cold pressed. Do some googling and find some recipes. Flapjack is a nice cheap option. Rice cakes can be done savoury which is good. Brownie, there are protien options as well.
Foodstations portables is worth a look.
I found they were as good. But I was lazy and so went back to buying things generally. That and a batch of flapjack lasts me a fortnight and I want a bit of variety.
Not as good but BETTER 😀
Homemade flapjack made using coconut oil and honey, filled with dried fruit, nuts and seeds of your choosing.
Better for you better tasting but not as convienant to acquire, store or eat.
How ever I do prefer home made.
if you can be bothered then look at recipes for roadie snacks - especially savoury stuff. I've made fried rissotto and mozarella balls and boiled skinned potatoes with salt, olive oil and parmesan. Much more palatable than a load of compressed stuff.
Jam or marmalade on mothers pride plain(as oppose to pan) bread in tin foil. Quick and easy to get at on a ride.
I'm pretty sure OTEs 'performance flapjack' is actually just 'really nice flapjack' so yeah if you found a nice recipe...
Flapjack +1
Never trust anyone who doesnt have a family flapjack recipie or isn't prepared to fight to the death in an argument over who's is better.
If you are making your own you can add activated almonds and reverse osmosis water
Isn't this exactly how the Clif bar company was started 😉
Probably missed the boat on marketing your homemade bars to millions of people, but perfectly possible to make some up!
The Story of CLIF - by GaryClif Bar is named after my father, Clifford, my childhood hero and companion throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In 1990, I lived in a garage with my dog, skis, climbing gear, bicycle and two trumpets.
The inspiration to create an energy bar occurred during a day-long, 175 mile bike ride with my buddy Jay. We’d been gnawing on some “other” energy bars all day. Suddenly, despite my hunger, I couldn’t take another bite. I thought, “I could make a better bar than this!” That’s the moment I now call “The Epiphany.”
Two years later, after countless hours in Mom’s kitchen, the Clif Bar became a reality. And the mission to create a better-tasting energy bar was accomplished. Thanks, Mom!
http://www.clifbar.co.uk/company
I've been using the bikeradar granola recipe for years. Like a previous poster, better taste and probably just as good if not better just not convenient to carry.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/make-your-own-energy-bars-11916/
Use activated almonds.
Possibly, things like the feedzone portables book have loads of ideas but when it comes down to it I can order a box of 4-5 different bars, stick them in the cupboard and pull out what I want over a few months. Unless your getting through a decent amount the hassle of making, storing etc. is a bit much for me these days - even when most of my meals are cooked from scratch at home.
Far better and at least you know what ingredients are in them. Branched Brazil's are the way forwards.
I have used Allen Lim's rice cake recipe (there are a few videos of his recipes on YouTube) Sticky rice, chopped ham, parmesan cheese, cut into slices and wrapped in foil. On long rides I sometimes get fed up with eating sweet energy bars, so it is nice to have something savoury for a change.
Sports nutrition bar versus two fig rolls:
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I doubt that more than a handful of world class athletes would truly receive any performance benefit from an additional 3 grammes of protein / 2 grammes less fat per serving
Edit: Soreen banana loaf seems to sit between the two:
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SiS bar has quite a poor split to compare against.
Do the same comparison with something like a zipvit zv8 and it's hard to find 'normal' food that will digest as easily whilst working hard.
I'd encourage people to check nutritional info on commercial bars before purchasing, as many are not really fit for purpose unless riding at a very low intensity.
To answer the OP, yes, you can certainly make your own, but unless you are training 20hrs a week, you'll either be forever cooking batches of 4 bars, or won't be able to eat a bigger batch before it goes bad.
Nutrition?
Pah!
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Sorted!
Anyone remember just before London 2012, Panorama (?) had a show on the science behind sports nutrition? Graham Obree was on it, and his conclusion was along the lines of "It's a loads of b******s, eat real food".
Don't think there will be much in an energy bar that you can't replicate at home, especially for (I'm assuming) non world class cyclists like ourselves..
Zipfit zv8:
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Just seems to have a load more sugar in it - not really significantly higher than fig rolls though. again, who is really operating at a level of intensity where an extra gram of carb or protein per bar is going to make a difference.
joeydeacon - Member
Anyone remember just before London 2012, Panorama (?) had a show on the science behind sports nutrition? Graham Obree was on it, and his conclusion was along the lines of "It's a loads of b******s, eat real food".
Whats real food? It pack nicely? Easy to pick another one?
The real answer is know whats in things and know what you need though it takes more thinking than watching a TV show
@ninfan, pretty much everyone that does sportives/mtb marathons etc is going to be operating at a level of intensity where it makes a difference. In fact its much harder for a less able athlete to keep intensity down to levels where you can get away with digesting something with a higher % of fat/protein.
It might not win them any races, score points etc, but maybe gets them a PB somewhere, or stave off the misery of a bonk etc.
Only problem I've found is that when I make a bar to the nutritional content I want e.g.a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein and the 55g of carbs an hour I use, the bars are quite big and not so easy to carry 4 or 5 hours worth when not using a bag.
Therefore on long rides I use homemade maltodextin and whey powder drink to get around this.
To OP's question though. Yes. I'd never buy a 'bar'. I'd make my own (some great energy bar cookbooks out there).
non world class cyclists like ourselves.
I'll have you know that there are world class pootlers, bimblers and mincers on here. Stop doing us down!
pretty much everyone that does sportives/mtb marathons etc is going to be operating at a level of intensity where it makes a difference.
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https://optimisingnutrition.com/tag/chris-froome/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/how-to-eat-like-a-tour-de-france-cyclist/
How many calories do you need a day?
I buy flapjacks from Home Bargains
29p each, usually buy 20 at a time
Original Powerbars are best, they taste so bad that you won't eat them unless absolutely necessary and taste is just the same fresh or two years past best before date.
Anyone from Oz or NZ will tell you Anzac biscuits are hard to beat. This is an original recipe.
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They're really good - basically enhanced porridge.
Just beware of urges to stick sharp pointy things into Turks or Germans after eating them.
For when you can't be faffed to make your own, go ahead have done a 'natural' bar which you've probably seen, but currently £1 for a box of 4 in Asda.
[url= https://groceries.asda.com/product/healthy-breakfast-biscuits/go-ahead-goodness-bar-cocoa-orange/910003121849 ]orange[/url]
[url= https://groceries.asda.com/product/healthy-breakfast-biscuits/go-ahead-goodness-bar-cocoa-hazelnut/910003122002 ]hazelnut[/url]
Quite small but dense and reasonably tasty.