
I’ve begun training for my first ultra marathon, which will take place in the summer of 2018. I am aiming for a 55K race, so there are a lot of runs I have to do to prepare myself. You can have a read of the progress I’m doing in these blog posts. When you run a lot you dispose of a lot of energy, some of this (if not all, depending on your goals) needs to be replenished. I wanted something that I could use as a pre-workout snack, a post-workout recovery snack or just as a regular snack during the run. It had to be easy to take with me on runs and I didn’t want to make a mess while eating them. So with this in mind, I had a look in the kitchen cabinet to see what I could come up with. After some testing, I finally settled on this raw vegan power bar recipe.

The ingredients

I wanted to pack as much nutrition as possible into a small bar so I chose carefully among some of the most nutrition-packed, plant-based foods I could come up with.

Dates

The dates provide the necessary texture for making the bar into a bar, but don’t be mistaken, they also contain a lot of good things that you need when you have to replenish your energy. They are high in natural sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose, which gives you an immediate burst of energy.

Raw unsweetened cacao

Provides a lot of antioxidants and gives the bar a taste of chocolate.

Old fashioned rolled oats

Oates is one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can find! Containing both fibre, protein and carbs that you will need to be able to perform at maximum level. If you are gluten intolerant you should make sure that your oats are certified gluten-free.

Walnuts

Contains fats that you will need for energy and also gives the bar some nutty and gritty texture.

Unsweetened shredded coconut

As with the walnuts, the coconut gives the bar a nice taste and provides fat needed for energy.

Chia seeds

Chia seeds are just the best! Containing all essential amino acids your body needs as well as a high fibre content, makes them a perfect ingredient in these bars.

Dark chocolate

Well, perhaps the least healthy ingredient in the mix, but hey, it provides a nice chocolate taste to the bar and there is actually some good things to find in chocolate. I used chocolate with 90% cacao.

Making the raw vegan power bar

The process of making the bars is quite straightforward. Start out by mixing the dates in a household blender or kitchen aid until you have a doughy paste.

Then add the walnuts and mix again. When you have a dough you add all the other ingredients until everything has blended completely. If you feel that the mixture is too thick (it should be a bit thick but not completely dry) you can add some water, one tablespoon at a time until you have your desired texture.

Line a baking form with non-stick cooking paper (or similar) and flatten the dough out evenly.

Then pop it into the freezer and let it be for a couple of hours.

Take it out and cut into bars. Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator (or freezer, if you want to keep your raw vegan power bar even longer).