Anyone make their own Clif Bar-type thingies?

[Nuthatch]

I love to cook and have access to a bulk-foods natural grocery co-op.

Was wondering if anyone here has tried to make their own homemade Clif Bar type energy bars and if so, how'd they come out?

I like these and they're a good product but I'm on a budget and they're a bit pricey compared to what I think I can make them for at home:
http://www.bearvalleybars.com/nutrti...fo.html#sesame

Anyone?

[Bags4266]

What would be the shelf life of homemade bars?

[Nuthatch]

What would be the shelf life of homemade bars?

Not sure. They'd probably be okay ziplocked for at least a few weeks I would think. I googled "homemade clif bar" and gots lots of recipes. With no eggs in them, it's just fruits/nuts/oats/protein flour/nut butter mixed with some kind of liquid sugar like honey or brown rice syrup. Nothing that would go bad or rancid in any big hurry.

I may try to make some. If I do I will post my results.

[RollingStone]

I have made them a few times. The trick to longer life as it was told to me is to use honey as opposed to sugar.

Laurie Ann March from "A Fork in the Trail" has some great recipes for energy bars in her cookbook. She posts here in the cooking section under "Laurie Ann". You might want to contact her for advice or considering picking up her cookbook. It's one of the better trail cookbooks out there.

[Dogwood]

yes, do a search on WB. You will find threads w/ some yummy easy to do less costly then store bought nutritional bar recipes. That's how some of the present day large nutritional companies began - making their own!

[Bags4266]

Yes Laurie Ann is a WB User and posts here often. Knows her stuff.

[txag]

I tried making Hudson Bay bread a couple of times:

http://www.tomstrong.org/recipes/hbb.html

This stuff is kind of dense - don't make the full quantity at before trying it out first.......

[JJJ]

I'e been experimenting with a few batches since last fall. ProBar are too $$$ and after a Probar, Clifbars don't cut it.
Here's some good foundation recipes I was turned on to.
My recipes have been a little crumbly, but delicious. Never had any go bad.
I use brown rice syrup as my primary sweetener.

[Fiddleback]

IMO, you can't help but do better making your own.

It's my perception that the commercial, mis-named 'energy' bars under deliver and are over priced. By making your own you can avoid the the admittedly high cost of the leading 'energy' bars and, just as in self-prepared dehydrated trail meals, the results of one's own 'energy' bars will be tastier, healthier/more nutritious, and more calorie dense.

FB

[Nuthatch]

IMO, you can't help but do better making your own.

It's my perception that the commercial, mis-named 'energy' bars under deliver and are over priced. By making your own you can avoid the the admittedly high cost of the leading 'energy' bars and, just as in self-prepared dehydrated trail meals, the results of one's own 'energy' bars will be tastier, healthier/more nutritious, and more calorie dense.

FB

Totally agreed. I already make all my own Trail meals from scratch; I like knowing what's in my food. No high-fructose corn syrup, that's for sure.

And that link JJJ posted is excellent. Can't wait to do a batch!

[Bags4266]

I don't know about this one though. You get those Cliff bars or Snicker marathons at Wally world for about a buck apiece. Not worth the extra effort to me. But dehydrating meals is another story.

[Nuthatch]

I don't know about this one though. You get those Cliff bars or Snicker marathons at Wally world for about a buck apiece. Not worth the extra effort to me. But dehydrating meals is another story.

Still think it would be much cheaper to make your own, but I'll see. To me, it's the pleasure of making something healthy, myself, and knowing what's it in. Rather than just going to Wally World.

Besides, I still have 6 weeks before I leave for the Trail, I have plenty of time to fiddle and putter around with trail food.

[RollingStone]

If you're making these for an AT trip, you definitely wont be able to have them long term unless someone can freeze them for you and then send them in food drops.

We don't mind homemade ones when doing local trips around MT, but on our LT hike last year I didn't even think about dumping them in our food drops. We carried 6 days of food besides the sustainability of the ingredients, packaging is a big factor as well. Cliff bars, etc are going to hold up much better.

If you watch the web you can get them usually for about 12-13 bucks a box of 12 and free shipping with a larger order. Buying them along the way is not cost effective.

Good luck on your recipes!

[Nuthatch]

If you're making these for an AT trip, you definitely wont be able to have them long term

Not sure if they'd last six months sealed, but there is nothing in the recipe I plan to use that is very perishable. Dried fruit, nuts, oats, salt and protein power all stuck together with a thick brown rice syrup. Should last weeks or months with no problem if tightly wrapped/ziplocked.

[Compass]

Keep in fridge or freezer as long as possible. Careful using "Natural" nut butters(like natural peanut butter) they say refridgerate after opening because they are not shelf stable.

Ziplocks are NOT air tight. They are just pourous enough to let enough oxygen in to support bacteria growth. Ziplocks are great for storing dried food.

Two years ago I had a terrible experiance with Almond butter in a ziplock. Eating my lunch I thought it was the best trail lunch I had. Two hours later I had a mountain top experiance that changed my mind as I was ready to die after puking for the fifth time and that continued for atleast another day.

I now relunctantly hike with peanut butter that has hydrogenated oils to prevent getting sick again.

Maybe mixing with other ingrediants would make them more shelf stable but I am not willing to try it anytime soon.

[Fiddleback]

Compass:

Over the years I've never got sick from my trail food or failed hygiene. I'm determined to keep it that way!!

I'm curious about the association of hydrogenated oil in peanut butter and the deterrence of upset. Did you mean to say that peanut butter itself keeps better than the almond butter you had your 'experience' with, or do you contend the hydrogenation provides the benefit? Will you detail your experience some more? Do you think almond butter is more problematic than peanut butter? Was it the Ziploc that failed to prevent spoiling? Etc.

If one is concerned about hydrogenated oils, specialty peanut butter brands and common brands such as Skippy can be had without it...or at least with very, very small amounts ("0 trans fats per serving").

FB

[Marta]

Fifty pounds of horse sweet feed would make a lot of bars for a very reasonable price. Moisten, shape, and wrap.

[NorthCountryWoods]

http://en.kendincos.net/video-dpnlvt...-food-bar.html

Wacky guy, but this might work. Bars that are dehydrated for shelf life. Weird how he uses ground flax, which I thought would go rancid quickly.

[sarbar]

A number of us have posted recipes for trail bars here over the past couple years. Do a quick search and you should get rewarded!

[LaurieAnn]

Thanks for the kind mention.

Sorry everyone... I've been awol lately. Lots of exciting things going on around here. Here is a link to one of my energy bar recipes. They keep a surprisingly long time (that is if I can keep my guys from eating them before a trip).


Blueberry Banana Energy Bars

The great thing about the energy bar recipe is that you can switch it up and use cashew or almond butter, change the cereal and the fruit easily to make a variety of flavors.

And here's another...

Banana Breakfast Bars