Gifted with home baked energy bars

Contents: taste and energy

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

When it comes to nutrition, I try to maintain the best possible diet that doesn't impose difficult requirements. By this I mean that most of my food choices are the right ones: vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, tofu, and reasonable portions. Unlike "foodies", I don't really care about what I eat as long as it has some taste. In terms of eating organic or avoiding any type of processed food, I can't be bothered. All in all, I think I do pretty well.

A colleague of mine at work, HB, is a true foodie with an interest in healthy baking. She experiments with food combinations and generously shares the results with her co-workers. I am always happy to provide feedback. She recently started a blog called Oven Notes that's worth a look.

Not long ago, HB asked me whether I used energy bars when I ran. I told her that I do use them and that there's a big difference between a bar you'd consume prior to a run, versus one that you'd eat for recovery. After quizzing me on the taste and ingredient profile, she baked up a batch. Each bar is 126 calories and has a good mix of carbs, protein and fat. The ingredients themselves include bing cherries, almonds, coconut and oats. Date syrup is used as a sweetener and whey powder for protein.

The results were impressive. Unlike Clif bars, which can be a little too sweet, these bars have a nice tart balance. They are packed with good stuff and, considering their low calorie count, are very filling. I haven't used them as a pre-run bar but they've been great with a cup of coffee in the morning. Perhaps tomorrow I'll put them to the test. I'll suggest to HB that she post the recipe on her blog. Otherwise I'll include it in one of my posts.

Cruel recollection

In the pantry in my kitchen there's a section I reserve for energy bars of all types. Some I use prior to my pre-dawn run as a device to jumpstart my metabolism. Others contain more calories and are higher in protein and work well after a run or a light meal. What's in common with all these bars is the predominant ingredient - peanut butter - that I prefer over other types. Peanut butter is a perfect food for runners with its high energy density, zero cholesterol and good fat providing many benefits. This all worked out pretty well until the FDA announced a sweeping recall of products manufactured with peanut paste supplied by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). Among those products are many of the energy bars that I buy such as my favorite type of Larabar from General Mills, Peanut Butter Cookie.

After a quick review of my inventory I realized that I probably have just enough non-peanut butter based bars in reserve to carry me through until the next visit to Trader Joe's. I'll stock up on safer choices until this all passes. It shouldn't cost me much to do that since, sadly, I'll be bringing back all of my recalled peanut butter Larabars. But maybe I'll keep one and take my chances...