OK. I want a snack for after a run. Especially for when I am away from home - at the track or after a race.
I figure that the humble flapjack is a good option. Main ingredients are:
Oats
Margarine
Sugar
Syrup
Oats are fine - complex carbs for slow release energy.
Margarine is out. Even healthy oils are not so great after heating. So I'm going for coconut butter - full of MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) which are ideal for fat burning. Healthy too.
Sugar is out. Syrup too. Although sugars are OK for post-run, I want to do this without refined sugars as much as possible. So I'm going for honey (equal fructose and glucose) with a little 100% natural maple syrup.
Also adding chopped dates and almonds for for sweetness and flavour, plus just a few healthy seeds (pumpkin, seasame, sunflower) and some dessicated coconut.
Recipe was:
Oats - 200g
Chopped dates and apricots - 100g (or so)
Two heaped dessert spoons of honey
Drizzle of maple syrup
Coconut butter - 100g
Few seeds and a bit of dessicated coconut.
Melted honey and coconut butter on low heat - mixed in with everything else. Greased baking tray with coconut butter. Put in mixture.
In oven for 22min at 175oC.
Just out of the oven! Will let you know what they taste like in a while...
Anyway - here's where you can help:
1) Any improvements or variations to this basic recipe? I'd love them to be more soft than crunchy (like those ones from the garage that are really bad for you! YUM!) Need to be as healthy as possible though.
2) The obvious omission from this as the perfect post-run snack is a lack of protein.
Can I put in protein powder? Whey protein perhaps? Will that "damage" the protein in any way? How will it taste?
If I can get a great tasting, soft (not crunchy), high protien, healthy flapjack with healthy sugars/fat and nothing bad at all in it, I'll consider this experiment closed.
Anyone up for some baking experiments?
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Comments
Oh, WOW!
Gorgeous!
My kids think so too!
Next batch needs to have protein - any ideas?
I guess some sort of pulse mulch might work, but I don't know.
Might taste a bit funny, though.
Add some chopped-up chicken? It's pretty flavourless ...
I'd have thought the combination of nuts and oats would be quite good complementary protein.
300g Oats
50g Quinoa Flour
50g Ground almonds
150g whey protein
175g apricots and dates
4 heaped spoons of honey
250g coconut butter
Bit of dess. coconut, maple syrup & seeds
Out of oven cooling - looks too powdery, but will try them in a bit...
Was going to add some nuts, but has lots of fats in already - maybe we'll try a few. Suggestions? Walnuts?
Use just enough water to cook fruit, don't strain the fruit but add the fluid to your mixture.
Block dates, chopped up & stewed in water 'till squidgy puree.
Bit of soya marge ('Pure' brand - not hydrogenated, has useful EFAs or something).
Bit of black treacle - all sorts of useful trace minerals in it.
Nuts & seeds - sunflower or sesame are good.
Oats.
Maybe some dried fruit, or anything else you like.
Spices, or even cocoa powder, can be interesting.
The dates basically stick it together so you don't need a lot of marge & treacle. Tastes very rich, & sticky-squidgy. Have with choc soya milk for extra protein (make with just cocoa powder, no sugar, and unsweetened soya milk for less sugar rush).
are you just going to make trays and trays of these till you get what you need
I'm with Pix. Dark Choc (you can get 80% cocoa stuff) would be lovely, and is a good source of iron. Just a corner maybe?
Protein is protein and flapjack is flapjack ... wouldn't it be easier just to wash the flapjack down with a glass of protein shake?
thats what i was thinking of
ive just had another thought
i dont think its possible to make a nice protein containing flapjack
cos those protein bars are HORRIBLE
1) What EXACTLY do I do to the dried fruit? (remember - I'm a man!)
2) Does this take any goodness out?
Hippo - Maybe... But plenty of littlies to eat up the trials...
V-rap - if I could have protein shake I would. The idea is to make soemthing I can take with me where I cannot use blender. Protein shakes without blender never mix and are grim - premade ones are extortionate!
Protein batch #1 taste fine - not quite as nice - but more than nice enough and with all I need post-run. Will eat them with kids after track session tomorrow.
Batch #2 will try "poaching" the fruit - may make it a little less powdery.