I go through a lot of energy bars when hiking, cycling or just road-tripping. They can be expensive and sometimes nasty-tasting, so I’ve always wanted to try making my own.
What’s more, we like to do our own juicing but it’s kind of depressing to see all that juice pulp go to waste. So here’s my stab at an energy bar recipe using pulp from the juicer:
Juice pulp energy bar recipe
Note: Measurements below are sort of, kind of, more-or-less approximate. That’s just how I roll …
First, I collected the juice pulp and kept it in the freezer until I felt I had enough to make some bars. For this recipe I used pulp from:
- 2 pineapples
- 1 lb grapes
- 1 lb strawberries
- 1 tangelo
- 2 limes
- 2 carrots
- 2 “handfuls” of blueberries
I then mixed the pulp with the following:
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1/4 cup of chia seeds
- 1 cup of chopped cashews
- 1 cup of chopped, pitted dates
I spread the mixture on parchment paper about 1/4″ thick, and scored into bars with a spatula. I put them on trays in our Excalibur dehydrator.
I set the temperature at 145 F for 2-1/2 hours, then lowered the temperature to about 112 F for 24 hours. According to the Excalibur drying guide, starting with a higher temperature was the best way to help prevent spoilage while still preserving the living enzymes that give the benefit of raw foods. An alternative is to set the temperature between 105 F and 120 F, but it will take longer to dehydrate.
The bars were a little flexible and very tasty. They need to be refrigerated because of the cashews; the oils in nuts can still go rancid.
I’m going to keep playing around with this recipe, but I’m definitely happy with the results.
Pack some snacks for travel. - Travelinas.com
[…] Granola bars or energy bars […]
Kristin
Hey there I was wondering about how many cups of pulp that all the fruit comes out to be?
i figure you could pretty much use any pulp as long as the consistency is similar, but i just dont know how much that equals to.. thanks!
Scott Lunt
Kristin, unfortunately I didn’t measure out the pulp but I would guesstimate about 6 cups. Next batch I’ll measure that out. I think you can use any pulp. If anything, pulp will change flavors. I stuck to fruits and carrots for a sweet flavor.
Also, I did another batch but increased the nuts by adding more cashews and some sunflower seeds (all unsalted). Again, didn’t measure the amount. This made each bar a little more filling/long lasting.
Six healthy snacks to take on the airplane.Travelinas.com
[…] made it part of my routine packing to throw in a granola bar, a bag of nuts or some (yum, yum) juice pulp energy bars in my carry on. After all, during the craziness of air travel it’s easy to forget that you […]
Elise
What if I do not have a dehydrater? What is the best alternative ?
Scott Lunt
You can use an oven, usually on the lowest setting. I haven’t done that, so I can’t recommend specific temps or times but there’s a lot of info online about how to dehydrate without a dehydrator.
On the road again. Snacks, wind and Big Texan gluttony - Travelinas.com
[…] love road trip snacks. They sabotage my ongoing attempts at healthy eating, which is not good, but the real problem is that after a few hours driving, my shirt looks like […]