I am calling these Bicycle Bars because I don't think anyone who reads this blog is likely to know who Christian Vande Velde is. He is a professional bicyclist who is married to a chef and this recipe is from Bicycling magazine sometime last year. This recipe is his favorite energy bar which his wife Leah makes.
The recipe is simple to make, nutritious, and 100% approved by our 4 year old, so you know it's yummy. He helped stir this up and gobbled any cranberries that strayed from the bowl. You will need tahini, which is a paste of ground sesame seeds. I buy it at Earth Fare, where it can be found with the other nut butters. It's a great alternative to peanut butter and useful in all kinds of recipes from hummus to salad dressing. If tahini is not available, any other nut butter would work well as a substitute.
Christian Van Velde's Favorite Bar
from Bicycling magazine
4 cups crispy rice cereal
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sesame tahini
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a large bowl, combine the cereal, cranberries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and wheat germ.
In a small pan, combine the tahini, brown sugar and honey and heat on low until bubbling. Stir continuously to prevent the sugar from burning.
Pour this hot mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until well coated. Press into a 9X13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cool for one hour and cut into 12 bars. Each bar will have 273 calories, 11.5 grams of fat, 7 grams protien and 41 grams carbs.
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