Thursday 24 April 2014

Protein Packed Post-Run Flapjacks

I've been training seriously for the last 4 months to get in shape for a half marathon. The big day is coming up and I've been preparing as much as possible. Eating well, staying hydrated, training regularly, and I'm now as ready as I will ever be. I've just been laying hands on the last couple of details, and started planning my post race recovery snack. I went to a sports nutrition shop and asked for recommendation. They ended up selling me an overpriced flapjack (or granola bar as it's called in the US). When I came back I thought that I could have done my homework properly and have made it myself. Next thing I'm in the kitchen mixing it up and here's my own version of a protein packed flapjack and the nutritional table I've worked out:
1 Serving (100g)       
Calories                329  
Fat                       19.6g
Potassium            95mg   
Carbohydrate      31.4g 
(Fibre)                   6.1g  
(Sugar)                10.0g  
Protein                11.3g
                                                                                

Ingredients:
200g   Almonds w. skin, blended into a course flour
250g   Oats blended into a course flour
250g   Roasted Peanuts, blended into peanut butter (just keep blending in the food processor)
1dl      Maca Powder (Some "super-nutritious" Inca Plant. Can be left out)
400ml Almond Milk (or regular milk if you want)
1 tbsp  Honey
2 Banans, mashed into a pure
Pinch of Salt
150g Dark Chocolate


Turn on the oven for 130ÂșC. Then start by making a course flour of the almonds in a food processor. Do the same to the oats. Mix them in a bowl with the maca powder and a pinch of salt. Keep chopping the peanuts in the food processor until it turns into peanut butter. Plob it into the oats. Blend the bananas. Add them to the mixture too. Heat the almond milk and dissolve the honey in it and pour it all into the mix. With a spoon or your hands, mix it all together to a paste. Put the paste into a ovenproof tray lined with baking paper. Press it out as flat and even as possible. Bake for 25 minutes.

 When the time is up, break the chocolate into smaller pieces and place them on the hot "cake". Leave for five minutes while they melt. Distribute it evenly with a spatula. Let the whole thing cool off completely until the chocolate sets. Just before it sets completely, cut into 15 similarly sized flapjacks. 

Here's the irresistible homemade flapjack, void of strange additives but packed with proteins and carbohydrates to rebuild and refuel your muscles after a hard workout.