Stop wasting money on expensive “healthy” pre-workout snacks—all you need is this no-bake puffed rice cereal bar recipe

Cereal bar topped with chocolate, nuts and seeds on a wooden board.

I’m always on the lookout for healthy snacks to give me energy before a workout, and I have been known to grab an overpriced cereal bar when I’m out, but they always taste so synthetic and sugary to me.

I’d much rather make my own at home, but of course that depends on whether I’ve got the time or the inclination.

That’s why I’m glad I’ve come across this easy pistachio and puffed rice cereal bar recipe on the RWL health and fitness app. Not only is it really tasty, it involves minimal cooking (you just need to melt chocolate) and takes less than five minutes to make!

It’s an ideal pre-workout snack because it’s relatively low in calories, with plenty of carbohydrates along with smaller amounts of protein and fat to regulate the digestion of the carbs.

As a bonus, the pumpkin seeds are bursting with micronutrients, including vitamin E, magnesium and zinc.

Ingredients

• 25g puffed rice cereal
• 12 large medjool dates, pitted
• 80g peanut butter (or other nut butter of your choice)
• 70g pistachios, chopped
• 60g pumpkin seeds
• ½tsp sea salt (optional)
• 150g dark chocolate, chunks or broken into small pieces
• Handful of pistachios and pumpkin seeds

Method

1. Add the dates and peanut butter to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add two tablespoons of water if needed.
2. Add this mixture to a bowl with the seeds, nuts and puffed cereal and mix well.
3. Place in a lined loaf tin, press down firmly and leave in the fridge while you melt the chocolate.
4. Melt the chocolate and drizzle on top of the bars then sprinkle over the handful of pistachios and pumpkin seeds.
5. Place back in the fridge to set for 1-2 hours.
6. Slice into 10 individual portions and store in the fridge.

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Recipe reproduced with permission.