Kayak Jacks Power Bars...............

[Kayak Jack]

Adding those fruits are a good idea. You might want to increase the apple sauce & honey about 20%-30% apiece too. You're gonna have to camp away from me though if you get too much bran in your muffin.

I use dried cherries (from Traverse City, Michigan, of course) that I get at Sam's. If I can keep them away from Katie, that is. She had most of a power bar for her breakfast before school this morning, and a another one for after school snack.

 

[Kayak Jack]

OK, another modification. I read that sesame seeds soak up cholesterol. They do everything that flax seed oil does plus one more. taste better too.

I went to the local food co-op/health food store and bought a couple of small packages (1 cup each) of them. Turns out that unhulled are better for you (more fiber), have a longer shelf life, and cost less. (Lessee here, what do I wanna get?)

I now add 1 cup of unhulled sesame seeds to the original recipe. (ORIGINAL??!! This thing has been modified so much that whatever it started out as has been lost in the mists of antiquity. Mighta bee a spinach souffle' once for all I know.)

I also add about another 1/2 cup of applesauce and bake it anohter 5 minutes.

 

[oldsparkey]

I don't know about sesame seeds but the sesame oil is some strong stuff, you measure it out by the drop when using it for cooking.

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Sesame oil? Chuck - when did you quit cooking with cod liver oil?

 

[oldsparkey]

I was so happy with myself this morning .. got busy and made some of Jacks Power Bars.
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Power Bars
6 cups oatmeal;
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or almonds;
1 cup sunflower seeds;
1 cup raisins;
1 cup dried cranberries or cherries (raisins, cherries, or cranberries are sticky, separate them and dust them with pre-measured milk powder before adding to the mix);
1 cup powdered milk;
1 cup unsweetened chocolate chips
1 cup applesauce;
1 cup + 4 Tbsp honey - (Warming the honey for about 30 seconds in the microwave helps).

Combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add applesauce and honey and mix again. Press firmly into 12" X 17" baking pan w/ raised edges, and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.
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Added the spices I like .... 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg ,1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves and 1/2 Tablespoon of the cinnamon.

Then added 1/2 cup more of the Cranberries , 1/2 cup more of the Raisins and a cup and half of Cherries along with a small container of the candied Lemon Peal.

Mixed everything together and put it in the pan and into the over ... "O" CHIT .... :evil: I forgot the chocolate pieces ... out of the over and all of it was put back in the bowl I used to mix everything, then added the chocolate pieces to the mix ( I had already cleaned the mixing bowl and everything else ) now they are in the oven cooking. I just love washing dishes.

Chuck

 

[Kayak Jack]

Good for you, Chuck! You'll be so healthy you'll be able to walk all the way across the street before we turn on your oxygen bottle.

Katie had one of these power bar for breakfast. Turned down Cheerios or buttermilk pancakes.

 

[oldsparkey]

I had to sample one while it was still warm.... It has a TANG to it (in a very pleasant way, my guess is it's the Lemon peel and Cherries) with a cup of hot tea on a cool morning watching the sun come up over the swamp ... it will be real good.

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

OK, orange or lemon zest (peel scrapings) are more variants. Nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, dried apple chunks, dates, etc. etc.

They cry out for variation. Jimmie adds Grape Nuts. After the holiday season and I'll have some mixed nuts left around, I'll crack them up and dump them in a batch.

And, you're right, these go well with a cup of hot tea. Often, in camp, I don't want breakfast for a while. Get up, paddle off on the way to a day trip, stop somewhere and munch these and sip tea from a Thermos. It could be a lot worse.

 

[oldsparkey]

The TANG is the one you get from Vitamin "C".... this is why I think it is the additional items I put in the mix. There had to be a good cup and half of cherries and they have that good tart taste to them, then the lemon peel kicked it up a notch.

Personally I think it really made a good batch for out camping, I hate bland food, it has a kick to it then all the better.

This has a small kick but one you can taste, like an easy slap to get you taste buds working, not like a good kick in the rear.

I made them for the November trip so you will get a chance to try one, only one, no more, forget it, stop begging and looking sad .......the rest are mine. Get your own.

OK, Jack .... Fer Crying out loud ......stop whimpering ya sound just like Oldyaker ......... A couple of them, no more. :lol:

Chuck.

 

[oldyaker]

I have toyed with Jacks power bars about 5-6 times now myself. I have some new variations as well. I use the tiny pasta called pastina instead of oatmeal. About 100 cloves of minced garlic, 25-30 mashed anchovy's, 1 cup of parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of basil pesto, 1 cup of sun dried tomatos, 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 quart of Dago red. Bake for a half an hour. Now gentleman......WE HAVE AN ITALIAN POWER BAR!!!

Ciao baby.....I'm a outta here......

 

[Kayak Jack]

... Now gentleman......WE HAVE AN ITALIAN POWER BAR!!!

I just can't wait for the Chinese and Mexicans to get ahold of this stuff. Cantonese Power bars - Jalepeno power bars.

 

[Kayak Jack]

OK, here's another variation. Add canned pumpkin to the mix. Either replace some applesauce on a 1:1 basis, or add it in addition. Could experiment with "pumpkin pie-type spices" too?

I'm thinking that if you add it in addition to applesauce, you may want to add, say, 5 minutes to the baking time to solidify it up?

 

[islandpiper]

Jack.......it's time to settle this thing......

Do you eat cornbread? do you eat popcorn? How about cornflakes? You're a Michigander, you must eat cornflakes.

Then just settle down and admit that grits aren't that bad.....in fact, they're good. Made of the same stuff as what you are already eatilng......especially the cornbread.

gotcha

Come to my house and be prepared to eat grits.

Piper

 

[Kayak Jack]

How's 6:30 on Saturday?

 

[dangermouse01]

So, thanks to setting our clocks back an hour late night for daylight savings time, today I find myself with an extra hour. So I decided that in between coats of varnish on the kayak, I am giving this recipe a whirl. Oven will be at temp in a few minutes and in they go.

DM

 

[dangermouse01]

Ok, they sure make the house smell good while cooking, they are good, but............

Kayak Jack sent this to me and I wanted to pass it along to all of you , if you are like me and enjoy snacking on a power bar.

1 cup unsweetened chocolate chips

I question the "unsweetened" chocolate. I pretty much followed the main recipe (except no sunflower seeds, just didn't have 'em) with some additions. I used the unsweetend chocolate per the recipe, but also added some Nestle Dark Chocolate chunks because I like the dark chocolate. I am glad I did, because the unsweetened stuff is bitter. So is "unsweetened" a typo? Because I think this would be good with the "peanut butter chips" or even the "white chocolate chips". But no more "unsweetened" for me.

The dried friut I used was a package of mixed cranberries, cherries and blueberries. I wanted more blueberrys but w-mart is the only place I know local that has packages of dried blueberries and I just didn't want to deal with the crowd at the Super-w for dried blueberries this morning.

I also added the nutmeg, cloves and cinnimon per Chuck. And would think of adding ground ginger at some point, because I like ginger (I know some of you perfer MaryAnn, but for me it was Ginger :wink: :wink: :wink: )

The packing in the pan seems to be a key, I didn't pack it down enough and the bars tend to fall apart. Next time (yeah, I will make them again) after I put the mix in the pan, I will put a sheet of waxed paper over top and put anothe pan on top and then use a rolling pin to press the top pan down of the other, packing the mix down good. Might have to use a cooking spray on the wax paper to insure that it doesn't stick to the mix.

DM

 

[oldsparkey]

Blame it on Jack (It is all his fault, that you can bank on) about the UNSWEETENED Chocolate, OK .. I will take part of the blame because I use the SEMISWEET since that is all that Publix has and I did not say it.

I like the additional spices in mine, because I like the spices and unlike you I really liked Mary Ann a lot better. Darn, my youngest daughter is Mary Ann but Ginger is one good spice like all red heads.

When I add my mix to the non stick pan ..... I run some water and keep my hands moist as I press the mix down and make sure it is in some form of uniform thickness.
Don't worry about pressing to hard when you do that ... I have never had a complaint from any of the items in there. Just be gentile so you don't bruise the cranberries :lol: :lol: :lol: .

Remember this recipe is the same as building a wood boat...... It is nothing more then some guide lines for you to go by .... Imagination and what a person likes takes over from there.
Jack did not say it but I add just a small amount of water to mine, about a 1/4 cup at the most.
I like citrus so I was thinking about adding some sweetened lemon juice in place of the water to kick up the tart part for them.... or cran/grape juice just to mellow them out.

When I pack up the bars in single snack bags they are soft, moist, and darn good but in one chunk. Sorry ... I had to say that. :wink:

Chuck.
PS. Want them sweeter ..... Pissssssst , over here I have some M&M's.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Some of us are already sweet enough that we don't need a lot of augmentation. :roll:

That said, I think I use the semi-sweet. Dark chocolate is better for us than milk chocolate (rationalization working here.) Dark chocolate is good for your heart.

Modify the recipe to your heart's content. Let us know what you do so we can all try it.

I'm going to bake mine about 15-20 minutes longer than my original directions stated. I add a bit extra applesauce and honey. After the bars have been packed in vac bags (Tilia food saver) a week or tow, they get a new texture that I don't care for. So, I'll bake'em drier.

A couple of these, along with a small handful of jerky, will keep me going all day until that decadent supper I have earned.

 

[dangermouse01]

I like citrus so I was thinking about adding some sweetened lemon juice in place of the water to kick up the tart part for them....

Suggestion: If you can find it, instead of lemon juice, try "Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice". Publix here carries it in the same area as the lemon juice in the green bottle. I use N&J's in any thing that calls for lemon juice. Little bit different taste than lemon juice.

http://keylimejuice.com/

Just FYI: While paddling awhile back, during lunch we started talking about baking, one of the women offered this as her substitution to applesauce. If the recipe called for 1 cup applesauce, she would use 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup of prepared baby food (Gerber's) prunes. She swore that it made her brownies even moister and gave it a slightly better taste. She said sometimes she would just use the baby food instead of applesauce altogether.

It has the same consistancy as applesauce and I dont think the amount would have that much of an effect on your system. I have never tried it.

DM

 

[oldsparkey]

I like citrus so I was thinking about adding some sweetened lemon juice in place of the water to kick up the tart part for them....

Just FYI: While paddling awhile back, during lunch we started talking about baking, one of the women offered this as her substitution to applesauce. If the recipe called for 1 cup applesauce, she would use 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup of prepared baby food (Gerber's) prunes. She swore that it made her brownies even moister and gave it a slightly better taste.

It has the same consistancy as applesauce and I dont think the amount would have that much of an effect on your system. I have never tried it.

DM

Give it a try and let us know , I don't think a 1/2 cup of puréed prunes in a batch of food this big would do anything wrong but help it.

Chuck.