Amount | Ingredient | $ / day | Source | |
---|---|---|---|---|
150 | g | Oats | $0.23 | Grocery store |
75 | g | Winco whey protein powder | $1.15 | WinCo |
35 | g | Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, dried | $0.31 | Amazon |
25 | g | Seeds, chia seeds, dried | $0.10 | WinCo |
15 | g | Flaxseed Meal | $0.06 | WinCo |
15 | g | Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, roasted and toasted | $0.20 | Amazon |
10 | g | Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), not sweetened | $0.06 | WinCo |
80 | g | Nuts, almond butter, plain, with salt added | $1.23 | Amazon |
75 | g | Honey | $0.73 | Amazon |
50 | ml | Water, tap, municipal | $0.00 | |
10 | g | Spinach powder | $0.30 | Amazon |
6 | g | Morton's Lite Salt | $0.08 | Grocery store |
0.5 | g | Iodized Salt | $0.00 | Hain |
1 | pill | Kirkland Signature Daily Multi | $0.03 | Amazon |
Amounts for: Total Daily Cost: | $4.48 | Add Ingredients to Amazon Cart |
Heat oven to 350F. Combine oats, whey protein, flaxseed meal, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, sesame seeds, salt, and spinach powder in a large bowl. Using a microwave, melt together almond butter and honey. Mix honey and almond butter with dry ingredients. Add just enough water for the mixture to come together in a very stiff dough. Spread mixture evenly in a parchment-lined baking pan and press down hard. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until edges of bars are lightly browned. Let cool fully before cutting. To minimize crumbling, slice with a sharp knife using a back-and-forth sawing motion, rather than using a blunt knife and pressing straight down.
To store, wrap bars in plastic wrap. Although they should keep reasonably well at room temperature due to their low moisture content, I recommend freezing to preserve nutrients, thawing a couple days at a time.
Take the multivitamin separately. Without it, this recipe is a bit short on vitamins C and E, niacin, folate, and zinc. I am interested in suggestions for making this recipe nutritionally complete without the vitamin. These bars are also a bit high in omega-6 fatty acids, but the ratio to omega-3 is reasonable. A significant proportion of the carbohydrates are from sugars, which isn't ideal, but the large volume of honey is necessary to bind the bars. They could be made higher in protein (at higher cost) by using whey protein isolate. I can't recommend living exclusively on these (or any other single food), but I think they're a pretty solid meal replacement.