MY ENERGY BOOSTING FLAPJACKS

Well as i'm a student currently living at home my Mum was not impressed with the increased food bill, healthy food is not cheap! So with this is mind I needed to create something I could snack on that doesn't cost much, I rummaged through the cupboards and this is what I came up with: 

Mixture A:

150g crunchy peanut butter

50g unsalted butter

200g clear honey

Mixture B: 

350g porridge oats

50g of myprotein, protein powder (optional) 

50g dried fruit (optional) 

Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees. Prep oven proof dish by coating it in butter or lining it with grease proof paper. Put all of mixture A into a small saucepan on a low heat. Stirring occasionally make sure it all melts and creates a liquid. While this is heating put all of mixture B into a separate mixing bowl and stir together so it is evenly mixed.

Add mixture mixture A to B and stir it all in. The dry mixture should be coated evenly and have a nice gloss on it. Transfer this mixture into the prepped oven proof dish making sure it's spread evenly. Now put it into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Once you take them out cut them into squares carefully with a sharp knife while they are soft and then leave to cool and harden. They will then be ready to eat! Enjoy.

Now for the interesting stuff:

This mixture made ten flapjacks for me. I made a crude calorie count for this recipe just to get a basic outline on what was in it nutritionally. I can't be sure on how accurate this is. 

Now I think the first thing you will notice is there is the fat, but it doesn't identify what fats they are. As most of the fat comes from the peanut butter it is good fats. As the peanut butter is high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, the flapjacks will be as well. Now monounsaturated & polyunsaturated fats have been proven to aid weight-loss, reduce belly fat, reduce your cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of heart disease and aid joint movement. 

We can see per serving it gives you a massive 42g of carbohydrates which will give you that slow release of energy. It  also contains a lot of natural sugars from the honey which will give you and immediate boost of energy. There is also more protein in this than a normal flapjack which is a plus due to it nourishing the muscles. The fruit is there for taste mostly and it adds fiber into the mix which is always good because most people these days don't get enough of it. 

The salt content is quite high. I think to remedy this I will cut the butter and just add peanut butter next time. The only reason the butter is in there is because I ran out of the peanutty goodness. BUT salt has it's good points, as you are going to sweat alot when exercising you will lose alot of salt in your body so the boost of salt before hand will in fact keep you hydrated for longer, this is because salt helps us maintain the fluid in our blood cells. It is also used to transmit information to your muscles this means salt will make your muscle more efficient when training. It will also reduce the risk of you getting cramp which is brilliant because that's painful.

These are portable and  great tasting. They were just a snack for me but have now ended up as something I eat pre workout because the energy boost is so great. I was alert and focused throughout my session and I didn't feel tired during at all. Now for the working person they would be great to start your day with so you don't skip breakfast.They would also be great for snacking on during an endurance race. They are cheap to make, easy to make, healthy and taste great. Go try it for yourselves!