Zero Waste Energy Bar Recipe (No Bake!)

When I was in college I ate energy bars almost every day. At nearly 4 dollars a bar, it was not a sustainable habit at all. Not only was I spending way too much money, I was wasting a lot of packaging. Lately I have been focusing on preventing all packaging waste and as a result decided to take a stab at making energy bars. This was the first recipe I tried and it is INSANELY good. It makes a batch of about 15 bars depending on how you cut them, and I gave away some of the extras to my friends who all independently told me I should sell them. Try them out, you won’t be disappointed!

Trash is for Tossers No Bake Energy Bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 tablespoon chia seeds
1 cup popped amaranth
1 cup nut butter (almond or peanut butter works) I used peanut
3/4 cup honey

Pop the amaranth (see below for instructions)

Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl one by one

Combine thoroughly using your hands (best part)

Transfer to a 9 x 13 baking pan that is lightly greased with coconut oil to prevent sticking (mine is a glass pyrex)

Refrigerate for a few hours to harden the ingredients

Slice into energy bars and enjoy! These will last for about a month in the refrigerator (but probably not because you will eat them before) or for a long, long time in the freezer.

Also, feel free to add other nuts/fruits in, if the mixture gets too dry add a little bit of honey at a time to get the consistency you want. The world is yours!

Popping Amaranth:
Amaranth is a short-lived perennial flower that produces protein packed seeds like the ones you see below. For this recipe we will be popping the amaranth which is fun and simple and really gives the protein bars a nice, toasted flavor. Heat a pot to medium/high heat and add a few seeds just to see if it is hot enough. When ready, drop in about a tablespoon of the seeds. After a few seconds, the seeds will begin to pop just like popcorn! Quickly cover the pot with a lid to prevent the seeds from popping all over the stove and shake the pot around a bit to prevent the seeds from burning. All of this happens pretty quickly, so don’t just leave them to pop and walk away from the stove! When the majority of them have popped, transfer them to a measuring cup. I then repeat this until I have the one cup needed for the recipe.