I like to get up early and get food in me as soon as I can because I love writing in the mornings. Cooking breakfast every morning can seriously cut into writing time, so I often make a batch of nutrient-dense power bars to fuel my morning writing and start the day off well. Here is one of my favourite recipes that has a texture like a fudge brownie but marcos that work well with my lifestyle. You can also make them vegan and gluten free if you’re into that. The pea protein and maca powder give them an awesome, wholesome flavour.

The ingredients:

20 g of maca powder

100 g of pea protein powder

3 tablespoons of cocoa powder

1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup of almond meal

1/2 cup of almonds

1/4 cup of pulverized cocoa nibs (see instructions below)

1/4 cup of cocoa nibs

1/3 cup of coconut oil

1/2 cup of honey (or maple syrup)

1/2 cup of almond butter (or peanut butter if you want to add some flavour)

Equipment:

Food processor

Spice and nut grinder

(I’ve linked to the equipment that I use)

Process:

First, put the shredded coconut in the food processor and pulse it a couple of times. Then add in the maca powder, protein powder, cocoa powder, almond meal, and the pulverized cocoa nibs–let me explain these special nibs:

** Use a spice grinder to grind up the cocoa nibs. If you’ve never done this, I swear it’s one of the most incredible things you’ll ever smell. It’ll take the chocolate flavour of your bars to another dimension. You may just want to stand in your kitchen the rest of your life smelling the ground up cocoa nibs. If you don’t have a spice grinder, throw the cocoa nibs in the food processor when you’re pulsing the shredded coconut. **

Add in the coconut oil, almond butter, and honey. Make sure they’re liquid. If they’ve been in the fridge, you can warm them up on the stove before pouring them into the dry ingredients but don’t get them too hot. Run the food processor to blend everything together. Add in tablespoons of the almond milk to get the mixture to a fudgey texture. It shouldn’t be crumbling apart. As it cools, it’ll solidify more so it’s ok to err on the runny side (<- that’s a statement I rarely say out loud). This is when I add in the remaining almonds and most of the cocoa nibs–I save some to sprinkle on the top after. By adding them in at the end, they don’t get completely ground up by the food processor, adding a chunky texture. If you like things smoother, add them all in when you’re processing the dry ingredients at the beginning.

Then smush all of this into a container that you can put in the fridge and then throw it in the fridge. They’re delicious to eat immediately but might fall apart. Leave them in the fridge over night and it all magically come together into smooth fudgey bars of awesome.

Macros

I say this makes 8 servings but I go to the gym most days and I’m 6’3 and 210 lbs so you might make this into 16 servings or more. If you divide it into 8 squares, each square has macros roughly around: 17p 28c 31f (427 calories) So this also makes a great pre-workout snack.