Homemade "On the Bike" Energy Drinks and Bars

[OakLeaf]

The old Joy of Cooking used to have those conversions, but if you didn't keep an old edition around for that, the bartender's guide, or those lovely wild game recipes, here's my favorite conversion site:

Cooking Conversion Online

You can work your way up to the main homepage for all sorts of everyday useful conversions. Or just browse the conversions from ancient and Biblical measures, torque, free fall rates on Mars ...


But anyway.

Here's a hypoallergenic recipe from The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook that's packed with complete protein, complex carbs, and vitamins of all kinds. I haven't made them in years - I can have soy in moderation, so once I discovered Clif Bars I never went back - but when I did make them, they were pretty tasty and held together well enough to carry on a hike in plastic sandwich bags.

Carrot Survival Sticks (Makes 8 Bars)

2 cups carrots, grated to the texture of coarse meal (use a food processor with the steel blade, a fine grater, or mince coarsely grated carrots 1/2 cup at a time with a knife)
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup amaranth flour
1/3 cup oat bran
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, groud
2 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
1/4 tsp anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon vitamin C crystals

3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp honey or molasses
1-2 tbsp water (optional)

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl (including carrots, which aren't actually dry).

Heat the oil and sweetener in a small saucepan over low heat until the sweetener liquefies. Stir into the carrot mixture. If the mixture is too dry to hold its shape, add a little water.

Shape 1/4 cup of the mixture at a time into a small log, a little shorter and fatter than a hot dog. Place the logs on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Turn the logs over, and bake another 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container for a few days. Sticks will keep a few days at room temperature, 2 weeks in the refrigerator or a few months in the freezer.

Variations: Replace the amaranth flour with soy powder, ground peanuts, ground tree nuts, ground seeds, or buckwheat flour. Replace the oat bran with rice flour, rice polish or rice bran. Replace the anise seeds with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs or spices of your choice.