Weekly MM: Chewy PB&J Granola Bars

*Welcome to one of my weekly MM (Meatless & Marathon) posts! Starting in August, my "meatless" Monday posts will also include updates as I train for my first marathon! This challenge is part of my 2013 Personal Goals (check out my progress here). I will be running the Anthem Richmond Marathon on November 16th.*

I didn't post last Monday (or, really, this Monday either) so I have a decent amount to catch up on! Last weekend marked the beginning of the 2-hour Saturday runs, which continue for three more weekends. Intentional or not, we happened to launch of 2-hour run phase with hills, hills, and more hills. Seriously, I had no idea that Richmond had so many sets of stairs up HILLS! Up went the hills and down went my average pace and total distance. My muscles burned and heart rate soared. Generally, stairs have never failed to make me feel silly. No matter how good of shape I'm in, stairs inevitably make me out of breath, faint, and sweaty in a matter of seconds. Then add in the initial fear of running for 2 hours...Truthfully, though, it was actually more frustrating than exhausting. Another long run change was my decision to wear a Camelbak, filled with a diluted sports drink. I'd been getting side cramps a little over the hour mark during morning runs, which I certain is due to dehydration. The pack and hose worked like a charm (no side cramps!), and thankfully there was no chaffing or discomfort. 

Last Monday was Memorial Day, so a few of us decided to take advantage of the extra time to knock out the early Tuesday morning run the evening beforehand. It was an all-around terrible run that I kind of regret partaking in. Main reasons: my body isn't used to long runs in the evening, it was close to 90 degrees with typical Virginia humidity, and my parents tried to feed me dinner a little less than two hours prior to it. All that, on top of trail running and hills, made for an extreme close-to-death feeling. I had no appetite afterwards and was still sweating when I climbed into bed that night. It was just terrible.




This past Saturday's run luckily built back up some self esteem: 12.6 miles in 2 hours. The two hours included several farlek-type intervals and a few inclines. Although it was cooler and less humid, I ran with my Camelbak again (still comfortable and helpful). My calves were the most unhappy of my body parts...by the last subtle inclines, they were screaming! Recently, Boyfriend and I have been making an effort to thoroughly stretch after our long runs. So immediately after, we did that then headed to Chick-fil-a for breakfast---yeah, that's our next item to tackle. Better recovery food. Also, for the first time, we didn't nap immediately after! Neither of us ended up minding much; and I honestly think I prefer it because I get to avoid the post-nap uber-dehydrated feeling.

While we're struggling with recovery foods, pre-workout fueling has been a fun experiment. Lately, I've been eating homemade chewy granola bars before my early morning runs. I really love their freshness, as well as the fact that I can pick (and know) all of the ingredients! My favorite combination so far has been one with peanut butter, salted peanuts, and freeze-dried strawberries. a.k.a. --> PB&J. 

Maybe not-so-obviously, the chew in "chewy" comes from a collection of fats and sweeteners, but I've tried to keep them all somewhat natural and as healthy as possible: coconut oil, brown rice syrup, local honey, and peanut butter. They are heated together on a burner for about 2 minutes, then stirred into a mixture of oats, rice cereal, seeds, nuts, and fruit. Press the final mixture into a lined baking pan and let it sit for a few hours before you can start to enjoy them. One batch lasts me about 2 weeks, which is outstanding considering the little amount of ingredients and time it takes to make them! As hinted at, this recipe is SUPER adaptable to your tastes and preferences--sweeteners, cereals, nuts, fruits can all be swapped out.

This flavor in particular is incredibly chewy and has the perfect balance between salty and sweet, with a little bit of tart. Plus, I love that it has some protein in it, along with other healthful ingredients like flaxseed, chia seeds, and local honey to help with allergies!

Chewy PB&J Granola Bars

Base adapted from Alexandra Cooks

Servings: 12 bars

1 cup quick oats 
3/4 cup crispy rice cereal
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped 
1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries, chopped 
3 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter)
3 tablespoons honey (or agave, golden syrup, brown sugar*...)
3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons peanut butter (I like Jiff Natural Smooth)
 *All brown sugar will make a slightly less-chewy bar

• Line a 8x8 baking pan with parchment or foil, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine first 6 ingredients, through peanuts. 

• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together oil, brown rice syrup, peanut butter, and sweetener of choice. (I've used 2 tbsp honey + 1 tbsp agave or brown sugar, in addition to all honey.) Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

• Remove from heat and stir in strawberries. Pour mixture over dry ingredients; and stir until evenly distributed. Press into prepared pan. Cover with a spare piece of parchment or foil, and pound down with a jar, mug, etc. (This helps ensure the bars stick together.)

• Allow pan to cool for at least 2 hours, then cut into desired size bars. I recommend individually wrapping them in plastic wrap for an easy to-go snack. Store them at room temperature for 1 week, or store them in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.