Coconut Apricot Energy Ballz!

For my long(er) ride yesterday, I decided to make my own energy bars using a recipe I had stumbled upon a few days ago from Read Food. Real Deals. Aside from the Apricots, we pretty much had everything already and the recipe is pretty easy to do, and vegan 8)

I tweaked a little bit the recipe, though, by reducing the amount of coconut shreds and adding 1/4 cup of chia seeds (which was too much). Also, I used oven-roasted almonds for a better taste.

Since the goal was to eat them while cycling, I used a 15ml measuring spoon to form small balls. It worked well, although maybe the balls ended up being a little too big. I may put some hemp seeds in the ball next time.

Ride wise, I was planning on another 100km ride, but the wind in greater Vancouver was so damn strong (and dangerously strong at time), that I had to settle for only 80km :-(

Raw Vegan "Larabar"

Da wife made some "Larabar" ... I have been talking about making some for a few days, but she didn't want me to mess up the kitchen, so ... She kinda winged but here's the approximate recipe:

• 1 cup of dry figs
• 1/2 cup of dry cranberries
• 1/2 cup of blanched almonds
• 1 to 1.5 cup of walnuts
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of almond butter

Soak the figs and cranberries for a bit in hot water (cover). Use a food processor to process all the nuts then add all the other ingredients until well mixed and crushed. Press in a pan then store in the fridge for a bit before cutting into bar.