Prices gave me a heart attack!

Saw this recipe in runners world mag the other day and thought "I might have a go of them" so went into a health food shop yesterday to look for the ingredients and nearly died! I guessed it would cost a few quid but I stopped adding up when I reached £20. Couldn't believe it. Needless to say, I left the shop without anything. Quite disappointed though as was looking forward to trying them.

[Hidden]

Blimey , what on earth do they have in them i am sure others will have some less expensive suggestions,

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Dates, almonds, cashews, cacao powder, cacao nibs, hemp seeds, chia seeds, macs powder and dried fruit. The main issue was the qualities, for example the chia seeds were in a 1jg bag for £6 when the recipe only needs a tablespoon of them. Xx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Did you look in your local supermarket they often have "healthy"food sections and may have some of the ingredients in smaller n less expensive sizes

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Think I will do. I'm very enthusiastic about trying to eat better and have no problem spending money (ask my husband!) but even I couldn't justify that cost. X

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

It is something I have said, eating better or healthier is more expensive but the benefits far out way the extra cost , 😊

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Absolutely. X

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Soooo true!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Hidden]

They do, Rob... I have jars of the different things and they are a heck of a lot cheaper.

[poppypug Graduate]

Blimey ! That is a LOT of money !

misswobble and Irishprincess make their own . I am sure they wouldn't mind giving us the recipes. I want to have a go at making my own too xxx

[Hidden in reply to poppypug]

Thank you for this. Xx

[Dunder2004 Graduate]

"I went into a health food shop"

Say no more! As has been said shop around and/or use alternative ingredients.

[Hidden in reply to Dunder2004]

Definitely think I will. It wasn't even a branded shop so I thought it would be cheaper.

[Irishprincess Graduate]

This recipe is easy, quick, tastes delicious and is much cheaper than your heart attack one! I'm sending you the full post so you can see the picture. They really do look like this!

healthunlocked.com/couchto5....

[Zev1963 Graduate in reply to Irishprincess]

Thanks IP they look delicious. I'm going to have a go at them as an alternative to the cereal bars that I normally take on my long runs.

[poppypug Graduate in reply to Irishprincess]

Thankyou so much your Maj ! xxx

[Slowstart Graduate in reply to poppypug]

And thank you Poppy for arranging that. These look great.

[poppypug Graduate in reply to Slowstart]

Im definitely going to give these a go this time ! I meant to do them last time but then forgot - Doh ! xxx

[Hidden in reply to poppypug]

Lovely going to try them too x

[Sandraj39 Graduate in reply to Irishprincess]

I can vouch for these as I make them too from time to time (yep, got the link from c25k forum some time ago!) - they are yummy!😊

[AncientMum Graduate in reply to Irishprincess]

I remember these, Princess ❤️❤️❤️

[Shelliemac Graduate]

Bet it was the Maca powder n cacao nibs from memory they're quite pricey. Check out pintrest I've had some great recipes from there. Though now addicted to advocado brownies so might not be the best advice lol

[secan Graduate]

I struggle to reconcile the idea of healthy eating with the idea of food bars...

Food bars can be a convenient way to store a lot of nutrients in a small volume/weight. They might be useful for prolonged high-intensity activities such as competing in a marathon or ultra-running.

Healthy eating is a different thing, in my opinion. It involves reducing/controlling food portions, eating a lot of fruit and vegetables, reducing/controlling the consumption of processed food, reducing/controlling the consumption of meat in general (and red meat in particular), sugars, salt, etc.

[misswobble Graduate]

I only eat one of my food bars if I am running over 10k. I had one today as I made a batch and they were in the fridge ready to cut up. Mine are raw ones today. I ran 12.11 k today so I thought I was justified.

They are not meant as snacks! We aren't saying they are.

Dried fruit is expensive! We know that. We are not eating these things every day. If you make a batch you will probably end up with 28 bars. If you buy a Nakd bar or a Clif bar check out how expensive they are!!!! It is worth making your own. They are simple and probably don't even need cooking. Mine today are raw ones that are just set in the fridge and cut into bars when cold and set.

The ingredients will all keep! Most of this stuff is available from Lidl etc but the coconut flakes I had to get from the health food shop. I won the espresso vanilla ground coffee (result!) I keep that in the fridge in a tupper and it's made me hundreds of bars. Still have some left, enough to make another batch. So the initial outlay might be dear but you can make hundreds of bars with it. You can eat your fruit and nuts etc in between also, as you can use the nuts in your stir fries and a few chucked on top of your fruit and yog.

mine look like those on the picture. Mine are from a website called Seasalt with Food and are the espresso bars. Once I have cut mine into bars I wrap each one in greaseproof or cling, put them all in a box and freeze them. Get one out on long run or race days.

[Hidden in reply to misswobble]

Well the ones I originally posted were under 300 calories and listed the ingredients as good sources of omega 3, protein and antioxidants so I didn't think that was too bad. I'm currently trying to improve my diet and thought if I made these but got 24 bars out of the recipe instead of 12 then they would be much better for me than the special k bars I currently have for breakfast. Xx

[misswobble Graduate]

These are the ones I make, a lot like yours but minus the maca powder, chia and nibs. This uses Bournville cocoa

seasaltwithfood.com/2011/05...

They look just the same, and don't need cooking. What's not to like. The recipe makes two x l lb loaf tins. You could eat these as a replacement for breakfast but I just use them for when I run a longer distance, either take it with me or have afterwards. I have porridge for breakfast if I'm exercising.

[ju-ju- Graduate]

There is a lot of hype about all this stuff. You can't beat a handful of raisins or jelly babies....