Pre-Workout Bars

I like to workout in the mornings when I can, and I also like to eat a little something before working out. I googled “pre workout nutritionist” because I wanted advice from someone who actually went to school for giving nutritional advice and discovered fruit and easily digestible carbs are a good way to go to fuel your body for a pre-workout snack.

After some pinterest recipe searching I decided I wanted to try something of my own. I eat one of these “bars” (also kind of like a cookie) between 15 min - 1hr before my morning workouts and I feel like I have a good balance of energy to carry me through the workout! I love these bars because you can wrap them up individually, freeze them, and thaw them as needed!

Today I set out to capture my recipe to share! I have the week off from work so while the husband is away the wife will play some 90s and today jams while cooking these pre-workout bars!

First up, grind yo oats!

Scoop them into a blender and grind just until all of the flakes have gotten sucked in and ground out.

Set the oats aside for now and grab yo bananas! Brown is beautiful!

Cut them up.

Mash them up with a fork.

Then add in all the good stuff! The PB, vanilla, cinnamon, syrup, baking soda, baking powder. Everything but the oats.

Mix it all around.

Now it’s time for those oats.

Mix it all together and drop them onto a silicon baking mat or parchment lined cookie sheet. I use these ratios to make 6 “bars.” Each bar has ¼ cup of oats and ⅓ of a banana (plus the other maple and PB goodness). You can easily adjust the recipe if you want more or less oats or banana, but this is just what I find works well for my body.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until bar (or cookie) is firm all the way through. They really don’t change color very much, so don’t wait until they brown.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let the bars cool on a cooling rack.

And there you have it! A delicious way to fuel your morning workout. I recommend refrigerating them overnight, then individually wrapping them in plastic, putting them all in a baggy, then freezing them. Pop them out one at a time as needed.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups old fashioned oats, ground

2 overripe bananas

1 spoonful of peanut butter (probably ¾ - 1 tbsp)

¼ tsp vanilla extract

3 shakes of cinnamon (probably ⅛ tsp)

½ tsp maple syrup

⅛ tsp baking soda

⅛ tsp baking powder

This will yield 6 bars. The measurement is ¼ cup oats to ⅓ of a banana. You can adjust the servings from there! This is just the ratio that I find works well for my body.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place oats in a blender and grind until just ground. Set aside.

In a medium size mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add everything except the ground oats (PB, vanilla, cinnamon, syrup, baking soda, baking powder). Stir together. Add the ground oats. Mix well.

Use a silicon baking mat or parchment paper to line a cookie sheet. Drop 6 equally sized glops of dough onto the cookie sheet into whatever shape you want (bar shaped, cookie shaped, etc, have fun!). Bake for 10-12 minutes until bars feel firm all the way through. Let cool.

Storage

Refrigerate over night, then wrap them up individually in plastic wrap, place them all in a baggy, plop them in the freezer. Take them out as you need them. You thaw them in the fridge overnight or place a frozen bar into a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes to thaw if you’re in a rush and didn’t think that far ahead.

Links

What to Eat Before and After a Morning Workout (and while I wouldn’t consider Pop Sugar to be “reputable source” they quote and received input from Sports Nutritionists, MDs, and RDs for this article)

Your Journey

What pre-workout snack or meal helps you power through your workout? Share below!