Trail Fuel: Home Made Energy Bars

I made these for Mountain Man before he set off for a 7 day bike trip from San Fran to San Diego. He texted me from the road that they were delicious. They are compact and can be adapted for tastes and allergies.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 and 1/2 cups assorted nuts and seeds (your choice)
  
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups mixed dried fruit (your choice)
• 1/2 cup powdered nonfat dry milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.
2. Put all ingredients except honey and eggs in a food processor and pulse until mixture is finely chopped. Add honey and eggs and pulse until combined.
3. Transfer to baking pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes.
   

Tips:

• If you want a lower glycemic index try agave nectar instead of honey.
• To keep the costs down buy only what you need from the bulk section instead of packaged items. I found everything in bulk including wheat germ, whole wheat flour, and dry milk.
• The mixture is extremely sticky. If you are having trouble spreading it in the pan try the following: 1) use a non stick spatula, 2) create your own non stick spatula by spraying your utensil with cooking spray, 3) use a sheet of wax paper to push mixture into pan.
• For a quick snack on the go wrap cut bars in wax paper and store in the freezer.
• If you like to see some whole nuts and fruit in your bar just keep some aside while you do the food processing and mix it in after.