In our second installment of the ongoing “Screw [insert big corporation], do it yourself” articles, we will break down a few ways to make your own supremely healthy energy bar. I have scoured the internet for recipes, and fired up the oven to test out the best way to make a good energy bar on your own. There are a lot of good recipes to chose from, but I have done a bit of modding to make the ultimate bars.

Let’s start off with a simple, but fantastic recipe. For those of us who like to keep it simple, this one is great. It requires very little time, or cooking skill.

Start off breaking up your favorite dark chocolate bar (70% cocoa or more) into tiny chunks. Then mix 1 cup of natural peanut butter and 1 cup of honey in a non-stick pot under medium heat. Cook this until fully mixed, and slightly runny. Next, add 3 cups of old fashioned uncooked, non-instant oatmeal and mix well. Take this off the heat and let cool for 2 minutes. Add the dark chocolate to the mix while still warm. Press this into a 9″ x 13″ pan. Put in the fridge until completely cool, and cut to desired bar size. Enjoy.

This bar is so beautifully simple and tasty. It is one of my favorite quick bars. You get good fats and protein from the peanut butter, some good fiber from the oats, a quick boost from the honey sugars, and some antioxidants and caffeine from the chocolate. Beautiful.

This next recipe is what I call the fruity goo bars. These are a sticky mess, but worth it in flavor and cheap energy.

Take 8 ounces of raisons, pitted dates, and figs and send them through a food processor. Mix this with 1 cup almond butter, and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Be patient as it can be difficult to grind up and mix this gooey mess. Then take this mess and flatten it in a pan to 1/2 inch thick. Let it sit in the pan and dry for a couple hours, then cut into bars, and wrap in Saran Wrap.

These bars are so packed with natural sugar that you will get your second wind seconds after eating one. Its also packed with Protein and Vitamin E to rebuild those muscles.

I got this recipe from RecipeZaar, and have been making it like crazy since. Here is what you will need:

1 cup peanut butter (or experiment with almond butter, too)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2/3 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries or raisins (or a combination)
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/3 cup shredded coconut
3 cups puffed brown rice cereal

1. Grease an 8×8 pan with a cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract until well-combined.
3. Add the sunflower seeds, dried fruit, sesame seeds and coconut and combine thoroughly with the peanut butter mixture.
4. Gradually add the puffed brown rice cereal to this.
5. This is where a child comes in handy– this step is gooey and messy and best mixed with your hands- and kids love stuff like that.
6. Firmly press the mixture into the prepared 8×8 pan; you’ll need to wet your hands slightly, otherwise the mixture just sticks to them.
7. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, then cut and go biking!

You can also change up the fruit or add some chocolate (similar to the first recipe) to this mix to change it up a bit.

That’s it for now. Go ahead and get cooking, and stick it to “The Man.” It is so simple to make a great energy bar, and cheap. The best part of this is that you actually know what is going into the energy bar that you are about to cram down your throat on a long ride. Anyone else have any good recipes to share?