Refuelling on the go 

One of my biggest challenges is eating enough food, crazy but true. I do a lot of activity, and that often means I need to get more calories in to make sure I have enough energy for the day. When you don’t eat processed foods, it can be hard to cram in calories that, you need to keep your body ticking over. Having snacks that I can keep in my bag and eat on the go have been vital in keeping me going recently. 

Protein bars that don’t taste like cardboard 

I’ve tried some protein bars and have to say most of them taste like cardboard, snacking on cardboard isn’t something I want to make a habit of so I came up with my own bars. These bars are a perfect mix of protein, fat and carbs without too much of any one thing; they are the ideal pre or post workout bars. 

No fridge needed 

It might be winter down here in New Zealand, but winter in Auckland isn’t freezing, which means keeping snacks safe to eat can be a challenge. I like to keep my snacks in my bag, so they are always close by and ready to be munched. This can be an issue when you use eggs in baking, that was a primary driver for using chia seeds in this recipe. These bars don’t need to be kept in the fridge, I pop one in my bag in the morning, and it is still perfect for eating on my way to yoga after work. I keep the batch in the fridge to make sure they don’t get funky, but they survive nicely for a day in my gym bag. 

They are easy to make; don’t have any added nasties and they even pass the little boy taste test. If you want a balanced snack that will keep you going gives these bars a go. 

Workout bars recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cup cooked steel cut oats 
• 1 cup ground pumpkin seeds 
• 2 scoops protein powder
• 1/4 cup chia seeds, soaked 
• 2 tbsp. cacao powder 
• 1/4 tsp. salt 

Pre workout bars

• Servings: 12
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Rating: ★★★★★
• Print

bars. These bars are a perfect mix of protein, fat and carbs without too much of any one thing; they are the ideal pre or post workout bars. 

Credit: Cath @ easycleaneats

Ingredients

• 2 cup cooked steel cut oats 
• 1 cup ground pumpkin seeds 
• 2 scoops protein powder
• 1/4 cup chia seeds, soaked 
• 2 tbsp. cacao powder 
• 1/4 tsp. salt 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/ 320 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl mix together, all of the ingredients to form a thick paste, if the mixture is too dry add a little coconut water to bring it all together. 
3. Line a baking pan with some baking paper, add the mix to the pan and press it down. 
4. Alternatively use a muffin pan and divide the mixture between the muffin pan.
5. Bake the mixture for 20 minutes.
6. Cut into bars or remove them from the muffin tin.
7. Allow the bars to cool on a cooling rack.
8. Store them in the fridge in an airtight container. 

Nutrition

Per Serving: 128 calories; 5 g fat; 13 g carbohydrates; 8 g protein

Equipment

• Bowl
• Spoon
• Spatula
• Baking pan/ Muffin tin
• Cooling rack
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons

Nutritional disclaimer

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate based on the ingredients used and available in my area (New Zealand). The nutritional information is here to help you understand the recipe; I use MyFitnessPal to generate my estimates. For more accurate nutritional information, please use a nutritional calculator with the ingredients in your area.

All of the meat 

As snacks go, I don’t think you can get better than beef jerky. The little meaty treat is hard to say no to and more so when the alternative snacks are loaded with sugar or soy. I initially decided to make my own beef jerky because the store-bought stuff didn’t agree with me. The beauty of homemade jerky is the different flavours you can make in one go and that it is so much cheaper. 

Simple to make 

You don’t need any special equipment to make your own jerky. If you have a sharp knife and an oven with a low heat setting, you have everything you need. If you have access to a dehydrator, it is an easier tool to use, and you can make more jerky in one go. 

More meat-lovers 

Recently the youngest member of our house joined the beef jerky lover group with a vengeance. My coconut amino teriyaki jerky seems to be a firm favourite with him (and the cat). The big bag of beef jerky that we get out of each beef roast is impressive. Keeping it in glass jars in a cool, dry place means that we have beefy treats on hand for a couple of weeks. 

Beef jerky recipe

Ingredients

• 1kg Beef roast 
• 5 tsp. paprika 
• 2 tsp. garlic powder 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 4 tsp. basil 
• 2 tsp. thyme 
• 300ml water

Thinly slice your meat; you want it to be no more than 5 mm in thickness.

Take a large sandwich bag you can seal up and place the meat inside or a bowl that can be covered.

In a bowl mix together the ingredients for your marinade, whisk to make sure it is well combined. 

Pour the marinade over the meat and massage it around in the bag or in the bowl.

Seal the bag or cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 12 hours but preferably 24 hours.

There are two ways you can dry the meat to make into jerky, you can use your oven or a dehydrator. 

Lay out all of the meat onto the dehydrator trays making sure the pieced of meat don’t overlap.

Once the meat has dried out it is ready to be stored, I keep my in bags in the fridge or in an airtight jar.

The time it takes for the meat to dry will depend on how thick it has been sliced, the temperature you are drying the meat at.

“Beef

• Servings: 35
• Prep Time: “30
• Cook Time: “6
• Rating: ★★★★★
• Print

Credit: Cath @ easycleaneats

Ingredients

• 1kg Beef roast
• 5 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. basil
• 2 tsp. thyme
• 300ml water

Directions

1. Thinly slice your meat; you want it to be no more than 5 mm in thickness.
2. Take a large sandwich bag you can seal up and place the meat inside.
3. In a bowl mix together the ingredients for your marinade, whisk to make sure it is well combined.
4. Pour the marinade over the meat and massage it around in the bag.
5. Seal the bag and put it in the fridge for at least 12 hours but preferably 24 hours.
6. When it’s ready drain the marinade off the meat and remove any excess moisture with a clean tea towel.
7. There are two ways you can dry the meat to make into jerky, you can use your oven or a dehydrator.
8. If your using the oven you need to have it set around 50 degrees C/ 120 degrees F.
9. Lay out all of the meat onto wire trays, you need to make sure that the pieces of meat don’t overlap, you can put multiple wire trays on top of each other but the needs to be space for the air to get between each tray.
10. Put it in the oven on the low heat with the oven door slightly open if you can, if not just open the door every now and then to allow the moisture to escape.
11. If you are using a dehydrator it needs to be set to around 65 degrees C/ 150 degrees F.
12. Lay out all of the meat onto the dehydrator trays making sure the pieced of meat don’t overlap.
13. The time it takes for the meat to dry will depend on how thick it has been sliced, the temperature you are drying the meat at.
14.Once the meat has dried out it is ready to be stored, I keep my in bags in the fridge or in an airtight jar.

Nutrition

Per Serving: 64 calories; 2.1g fat; 0g carbohydrates; 10.4g protein

Equipment

• Scales
• Measuring jug
• Measuring spoons
• Knife
• Chopping board
• Ziplock bag
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Dehydrator or wire racks

Nutritional disclaimer

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate based on the ingredients used and available in my area (New Zealand). The nutritional information is here to help you understand the recipe; I use MyFitnessPal to generate my estimates. For more accurate nutritional information, please use a nutritional calculator with the ingredients in your area.