Can We Improve on the Homemade Cliff Bars - No Bake! Recipe?

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ScottFree_66
ScottFree_66 Posts: 200
in Recipes
So I made my first batch of "Homemade Cliff Bars - No Bake!". I followed the recipe at http://enlightenedcooking.blogspot.com/2008/06/homemade-cliff-bars-no-bake.html, with a few exceptions.

I had to look up Papitas... turns out they are, pumpkin seeds. So I bought a bag of unsalted raw seeds and chopped them in a food processor. I couldn't find "brown rice syrup", so I used Agave Nectar. Instead of "flax seed" I used Chia Seeds. I misjudged when cutting my bars and made 8 slices instead of 12 (next time I know what to do).

This saves a lot of money versus buying the bars at the store, but I was wondering what I could do to reduce the calories a little more. I looked up "low fat" peanut butter and it only saved 10 calories per bar. I also looked up "brown rice syrup" and it has TONS more calories than agave nectar.


Ingredients Cal.
Rolled Oats, 1/2 cup 150
Cinnamon, 1 tbsp 18
Agave Syrup, 24 Tsp 480
rice Crispy, 1.25 cup 139
Chia Seeds, 2 tbsp 120
Diced Dried Papaya, 1/4 cup 140
chopped Pumpkin Seeds, 1/4 cup 178
Creamy Peanut Butter, 8 tbsp 760



@ 8 Servings: Cal.
Total: 1985
Per Serving: 248



@ 12 servings: Cal.
Total: 1985
Per Serving: 165

Replies

  • ScottFree_66
    ScottFree_66 Posts: 200
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    when i typed this out.... I had nice, easy to read columns for the calories.... but for some reason this forum doesn't like that. :(
  • Outlawhorses
    Outlawhorses Posts: 23 Member
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    Thanks for sharing this :))
  • BrittKnee_Rae
    BrittKnee_Rae Posts: 111 Member
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    Well.... you said you used chia seeds (2tbsp=120 cal) instead of flax seed, my milled flax seed is only 60 cal for 2 tbsp!
  • BrittKnee_Rae
    BrittKnee_Rae Posts: 111 Member
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    and thanks for this, I may try it!! :)
  • carey1986
    carey1986 Posts: 17 Member
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    Thanks for the link, did you think to try honey instead of the syrup? Or are you vegan? I have never tried Argarve nectar or the rice syrup but you could try using less of the honey... (perhaps its just as sweet!?) also what about replacing the syrup or some of it with fruit juice (like apple) or fruit sauce... Ill try this out and let you know if I come up with anything edible...
  • Greno
    Greno Posts: 1 Member
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    I make these quite often. Brown Rice Syrup is available at Whole Foods (cheapest) or any other health food store. I use almond butter and brown rice syrup and a little brown sugar (2 tbsps) and a tsp of molasses. It takes about twice of wet goods/nut butter to get them the consistency of a real Clif Bar. Honey is ok as well, but doesn't affect the taste or sweetness all that much. I typically use walnuts and dried cranberries as well.
  • doodlebug7531
    doodlebug7531 Posts: 20
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    bump
  • jeffsweightloss
    jeffsweightloss Posts: 314 Member
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    i made these...and they are really good. i added 2 scoops protein powder to mine. they came out a little dry b/c of it. but, they were still very good. i'm going to play around with the recipe next time.
  • katie_fitzy
    katie_fitzy Posts: 83 Member
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    I made these and used Better than Peanut Butter. Regular PB has 200 cal and 16 grams fat per 2 tbsp serving. Better than PB has 100 cal and 2 gr fat per 2 tbsp. The cliff bars were still yummy!
  • AdrieneJ
    AdrieneJ Posts: 141 Member
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    I wonder if using unsweetened applesauce in place of some of the agave nectar might help. I've seen a lot of bar recipes that use the applesauce to bind it together, and I suspect that's what the syrup/nectar is there to do. Also, if you changed out some of the rolled oats for quick oats, it would bind together better with less syrup/nectar.
  • aw0430
    aw0430 Posts: 6
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    Scott you might look for the Walden Farms brand of Peanut Spread. It is drastically low in calories/fat/carbs etc. In fact, some of their products have none of the above.
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Thanks for including the nutritional information. I noticed that the site didn't have this. I would love to cut out some of the calories. Let us know if you have found a way to do so.

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