Fitness Crunch Bars are a delicious and healthy snack. You can make them in advance, so you can grab one as you head out the door. They’re also easy to make, and they will fill you up without making your waistline expand! With protein from nuts and seeds, fiber from oats and flaxseed meals, and vitamins and minerals from fruits, these little bars pack a punch!
This recipe is great for when you’re craving a crunchy, sweet snack without all the added sugar.
Fitness Crunch Bars are a great way to get a fast, convenient protein boost any time of day. Each bar offers a blend of 20g of whey protein isolate with added vitamins and minerals for a complete nutrition profile.
These bars are made with real food ingredients that you can pronounce, including whole grain oats, brown rice syrup, and natural peanut butter. They’re also high in fiber and low in sugar, making them the perfect snack for anyone with diabetes or gluten sensitivities.
Fitness Crunch Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots)
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
- Mix together peanut butter and honey until combined.
- Fold in oats, dried fruit, and chocolate chips.
- Spread it into an 8×8-inch baking pan.
- Slice for 30 minutes before slicing into bars.
- Keep it in an airtight container.
makes approximately 18 bars.
Ingredients
The ingredients in this peanut butter crunch bar include:
- Peanuts: These are high in protein and contain heart-healthy fats, which are good for your heart. They also have a lot of fiber, so they keep you full longer than most other snacks (which is great for weight loss).
- Honey: This ingredient has anti-inflammatory properties that may help you burn fat faster! It also helps to balance blood sugar levels so that you don’t experience as many cravings throughout the day, as well as boosts energy levels.
- Oats: They provide both soluble and insoluble fiber, which helps to slow down digestion and keeps hunger at bay for longer periods of time. They also have a low glycemic index (GI) rating, so you won’t experience spikes in blood sugar after eating them like many other carbs do.
1 cup warm peanut butter
Peanut butter is a good source of protein, healthy fats, and calories. The more fat in your diet, the better. Choose a creamy variety with no added sugars or hydrogenated oils (which we’ll cover later).
1/2 cup honey
Honey is a natural sweetener. It contains antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that are good for your health. Honey is also a source of many minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, and zinc.
Honey comes from the nectar of flowers or secretions of living parts of plants or trees by bees (the stingless honeybee Apis mellifera). It is popularly believed to have medicinal properties, including acting as an antiseptic agent on wounds [1]. [2]
2 cups oats
- Oats contain a good amount of fiber and protein, which are both important for your body to function. Fiber helps you feel full longer so that you won’t overeat, and protein helps repair muscles after a workout.
- Oats are also rich in iron and magnesium, as well as phosphorous. Iron is essential for red blood cell production, which transports oxygen throughout the body; it can also help lower cholesterol levels. Magnesium plays a role in many bodily functions, including muscle contraction and nerve conduction. It has also been shown to play an important role in regulating blood sugar levels.
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots)
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots)
Dried fruit is a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and potassium. It’s also high in iron and calcium.
1/3 cup chocolate chips
You can use any kind of chocolate chip for this recipe. They make the bars taste great, but they also add a lot of sugar to the bars. If you want to keep your blood sugar levels in check, I recommend using dark chocolate chips instead.
You can also use white chocolate chips if you want a sweeter bar with fewer healthy fats and fewer calories. White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, so it still contains some fat even though the color is lighter than dark or semi-sweet.
Finally, I’ll let you decide whether or not it’s worth it to splurge on expensive boutique brands like Green & Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate Chips (which contain 60% cacao). This ingredient gives them an extra punch of antioxidants that will help fight free radicals in our bodies!
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine peanut butter and honey until well blended. Fold in oats, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Spread the mixture into an 8×8-inch baking pan lined with parchment paper; press down firmly to compact the mixture evenly.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes before slicing into bars (you can use a sharp knife or cookie dough shaped by hand). Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months; thaw overnight at room temperature before serving if frozen. It yields about 18 bars.
Mix together peanut butter and honey until combined. Fold in oats, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Spread it into an 8×8-inch baking pan. Slice for 30 minutes before slicing into bars. Keep it in an airtight container. makes approximately 18 bars.
Another Variation of Fitness Crunch Bars
2 cups of fiber-one cereal.
- Fiber One cereal is an excellent source of fiber. One cup contains nearly 20% of your recommended daily allowance, making it an excellent way to increase your fiber intake without increasing calories.
- This cereal is also a good source of carbohydrates and protein, providing you with energy for training or competition. Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose (sugar), which can be used directly by the body as fuel, while protein helps to build muscle tissue.
- A serving size provides 15% of the iron you need in a day, so eating this food regularly will help keep your body’s iron levels balanced and avoid fatigue during training sessions or competitions.
- Finally, because this breakfast cereal contains vitamin E, it may help reduce oxidative stress on cells that occurs as part of normal metabolic processes such as exercising!
1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats
Old-fashioned oats are the preferred choice for a lot of people when it comes to their health. They’re also better for your skin and guts! This recipe is just a slight change from regular granola bars, but it makes all the difference in taste and texture. The homemade honey-roasted peanuts give this snack bar a flavor that you can’t get anywhere else.
2 tbsp honey
Honey is a natural sweetener that can be used in many different recipes. It’s also a good source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, probiotics, and more.
In the case of this recipe, honey will help balance out some of the bitterness from the shredded coconut. The reason “Crunch Bars” are so delicious is because they’re made with real ingredients like cashews and oats—and not too much sugar!
1/4 cup unsalted butter
Before you get started with these recipes, it’s important to know that butter is high in saturated fat, calories, and cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends keeping your total daily saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of your daily calories. For example, if you’re following a 2,000-calorie diet plan (recommended for most adults), then no more than 14 grams of saturated fat should be consumed per day.
In addition to reducing your overall calorie intake, it’s also best practice to limit added sugars and sodium as much as possible. While these recipes are delicious without any modifications at all—and they taste amazing when made with real butter—we recommend adding no more than 1/2 cup per batch if you want them to fit within the parameters above.
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
This is a good source of protein and vitamin E. It’s also an excellent source of niacin, folate, magnesium, and vitamin B6.
1 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol. The vanilla flavor comes from the dried bean pod, which has a strong aromatic flavor. Vanilla is used to flavor many desserts and other foods. You can find it in ice cream, cookies, cakes, and many other desserts.
1/4 tsp salt
SALT IS A MINERAL. It’s one of the most important minerals in the body and plays an important role in your health.
In addition to being a mineral, salt is also a flavor enhancer. This makes it essential for foods like breads, crackers, and cereals, which don’t always have enough taste on their own.
Salt can also be used as an electrolyte when you sweat during exercise or otherwise lose fluids from your body—you need electrolytes to maintain proper cell function!
Salt is often added to food before processing so that when it’s heated at high temperatures during manufacturing processes like baking or frying, all of its nutrients remain intact until you eat them later on down the path (i.e., not lost or burned up).
3 tbsp mini chocolate chips (optional)
You can use any kind of chocolate chip for these bars. Dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and butterscotch chips are all great choices.
Enjoy!
The most important thing to remember is that you should enjoy these bars. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “But these are health food bars!” And yes, that’s true—these are health-food bars with a lot of vitamins and minerals in them. But even though they’re good for you and contain some very healthy ingredients, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still go ahead and eat them!
- Enjoy the bar with friends.
- Enjoy the bar with the family.
- Enjoy the bar when you wake up in the morning.
- Enjoy the bar after school/work/university (if applicable).
Conclusion
After seeing our recipe today, you should be able to make your own version of these bars at home! The great thing about this recipe is that it gives you many options to personalize it by substituting certain ingredients with ones that taste better or have more nutritional benefits. So go ahead and try this recipe at home and let us know what variations worked best for you!
Start your day with a fitness crunch bar!
Fitness Crunch Bars
Alex is a passionate fitness enthusiast dedicated to helping people lead healthier, more active lifestyles. He encourages small – sustainable changes over drastic transformations and works with people to create customized wellness plans. His mission is to help others benefit from the most effective methods available, sharing tips, strategies, and health & fitness tools on Gearuptofit.com to inspire people to live their best lives.
