Tired of choking back qualms about mass-market energy food, Tom Couzens cracked out the oats and created an entire recipe book of homemade alternatives
Although they’re convenient to use and glitzily marketed, manufactured energy products tend to be expensive as well as, in my experience, artificialtasting and much too sweet. Most of these pre-packed bars and gels come in gaudy packets printed with long lists of unpronounceable ingredients – the chemicals that ensure a long shelf life – and I never feel fully comfortable about putting such things into my body. My solution? Following an intensive few weeks of experimentation in the kitchen during lockdown, I now make all my own bars from scratch – and in this feature I’m going to show you how. It’s much easier than you might think.
If the bars you’re carrying in your jersey pockets are unappetising, you’re less likely to reach in and grab one. This increases the risk of eating less than you need and training less effectively as a result. It’s not just about flavour but texture too – homemade bars, because they’re fresh, are far more succulent and require less chewing. Eating on the bike should be a pleasure, not something you put off for fear of gumming your jaws together!
If you do a lot of riding, the cost of commercially made energy food all adds up. Most bars cost £1-2 each, and you’ll easily get through three to four bars on a standard Saturday morning ride. In contrast, the simple ingredients for a big batch of homemade bars cost only a few pounds and you can easily make enough for the whole week.
Once you’ve learnt the basics, you can let your imagination run wild in the kitchen – there’s no limit to the flavour combinations you can try. I’ve created more than 50 different bars since I started experimenting a couple of years ago. From sticky toffee pudding to apple crumble and banana cake bars, the options are endless. Better still, the base mix requires only a handful of staple ingredients.
Another benefit of making your own bars is that you know exactly what is going into each one. If you have an allergy or particular dislike, it’s no problem, as you can simply avoid that ingredient. You can cut the bars into exactly the right size too. This tailoring is especially useful if you’re getting ready for your first century ride or are trying to reduce your sugar intake. Apps such as MyFitnessPal are on hand if you want to work out the precise macros and nutritional content of your mixture to determine how many bars or balls to make, corresponding to your nutritional goals.
While racing, I aim to consume 100g of carbohydrates per hour. Some of the shop-bought bars I used in the past contained only 25g of carbs, requiring upwards of 10 bars for a long race. Bars containing more carbs tended to be too dense and difficult to
