I have a confession to make…I love oats.

Before the Paleo Police come after, I’ve tried eating a completely grain-free diet in the past. I understand and can appreciate the rationale, certainly, but the approach left me feeling flat and under-recovered during periods of heavy training.

If you’re overweight or metabolically dysfunctional then dropping excess carbohydrate is point number one. But if you’re training to maximize strength and performance, let’s say, then you need more carbohydrate than you might realize. Going 100% “Paleo” just won’t do.

I’m also Scottish. I grew up eating rich, local oats and grains. I credit my brains and good looks to them. I feed them to my family. They are the one thing I crave most often. Yes, even more than chocolate.

A bowl of oatmeal is a killer late night snack. For breakfast I take it topped with butter or coconut oil, grated apple, loads of nuts, coconut and seeds. In fact, this combo is so delicious and nutrient dense, I decided to turn it into a convenient, low sugar snack bar.

I think you’re going to love this recipe. I hope you choose to give oats a try. But if do prefer to keep it grain free, I’ve also including an oat-free option.

Ingredients

• 100g of oats
• 45g of unsweetened coconut (I use flaked)
• 30g of ground flax seeds
• 50g of chopped walnuts
• 60g of pumpkin seeds
• 50g of sliced almonds
• 50g of coconut oil or nut oil such as macadamia oil
• 5 eggs (beaten)
• 1 grated apple (keep skin on)
• 2 scoops (60g) of protein powder (I used vanilla whey)
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)

Method

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Toast the oats, coconut, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and sliced almonds in a hot pan for a few minutes. Allow to cool in a bowl and then add the remaining dry ingredients.

Combine the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine.

Line a 9’ by 9’ baking tray with parchment paper and add the mixture to the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool and slice into 12 or 16 pieces.

Store in the fridge for up to 4 days or so, although I doubt they’ll last that long.

You have many options

• Don’t want protein powder? Just omit the powder and one of the eggs, then substitute with 30g of almond meal/flour.
• Add 50g of honey, brown sugar or coconut sugar if you like it sweet.
• Omit the oats if you want. Replace with 30g of almond meal, 30g of mixed seeds like sesame, hemp and chia. Also add 50g of dried fruit such as cranberries or raisins.
• Replace the oil with melted unsalted butter.
• Add more oats if you could benefit from the carbs, just cut back on some or all of the nuts. My son has a nut allergy so I make him a special nut free tray called Dane bars. You’ll find them on my blog.
• You can also bump the calories by adding 60g of dried fruit, or just replace the nuts with dried fruit.
• Omit the eggs and substitute with 2 large or 3 small mashed ripe bananas.
• Replace an egg with a tablespoon of apple sauce.
• Add toppings! Melt 100g of dark chocolate and drizzle on top (YUM!) or try 50g of honey or maple syrup. Add right on top of your mix during the last 15 minutes of baking. It makes a delicious glaze.

Added a little dark chocolate for my Sunday treat. So delicious and packed with power! @barbellbuddha

A photo posted by Moozlers (@moozlers) on Jan 4, 2015 at 7:21am PST

Nutritional info

• Approximate nutritional info for one bar – about 1/16^th of the recipe
• Calories (180), Fat (12), Carbs (8), Sugars (less than 1g) & Protein (10g)
• You can’t beat that, can you?

I hope you enjoy the bars. Eat well, train hard!

Virginia

For more

• Want more killer performance-recipe ideas? Don’t miss Virginia’s excellent blog, Moozlers. You can also follow her on Instagram HERE.
• Need more help sorting out your nutrition and fueling? Make sure to check out the Faction Foods Nutrition Course HERE.