• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Good Cheap Eats
  • About
    • About Good Cheap Eats
    • Media
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • Contact Me
  • Members Only
    • Login
    • Club Homepage
    • Club Resource Library
    • Downloads
    • Live Club Events
  • Recipe Index
  • Blog
  • SHOP
    • Purchases
    • Cookbooks
    • Planner
    • The Good Cheap Eats Club
    • Meal Plans
    • Holiday Helps
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Easter Recipes
  • Budget Strategies
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Join the Club
  • About
  • My Account
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Easter Recipes
    • Budget Strategies
    • Recipes
    • Shop
    • Join the Club
    • About
    • My Account
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Budget Recipes

    Wholesome Energy Bars

    Published: Feb 10, 2013 · Modified: Dec 17, 2022 by Jessica Fisher

    FacebookTweetPinPrint
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more details, please see our disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Bake up a batch of these energy bars, full of whole grains, seeds, and dried fruit. They are a great way to start your morning.

    toasted energy bars

    Years ago I worked as a server for a small Santa Barbara restaurant group. Brigitte and Norbert owned Brigitte’s, Brigitte’s Bakery, and Cafe B. I was fresh out of college, newly engaged, and shaking in my boots to work for this very intense couple. Norbert was the chef/baker of the lot. Brigitte took care of things up front in the restaurant, a white table cloth and extensive wine list kind of place.

    I worked in the bakery where it was quiet, serving coffee drinks and muffins to whoever happened along. Back in 1994, this was the equivalent of what Starbucks is today, I suppose. Except the coffee wasn’t as good. The baked goods, however, beat Starbucks flat.

    As scary as Norbert was in his tall, bulky German way, I gotta admit: he knew food.

    I had had a little experience with food prior to this job. I knew grocery retail from my days at Lucky. And I knew prep kitchen stuff, having worked for the University catering company in college.

    At Brigitte’s, I expanded my food knowledge. I asked lots of questions and got to try lots of great food. One of the perks of working there was that you got one free meal per shift.

    I loved the Caesar Salad from the restaurant, the fried ravioli, the salmon with pesto, and the mango muffins. I first met foccacia there as well as goat cheese tart. I ate so well that year. It was a pretty nice gig for the nine months I worked there before grad school.

    One of the bright spots of working in the bakery was getting an education in the variety of baked goods that could be dreamed up. Every morning trays and trays of baked goods slid out of the oven and we stocked the bakery case. One such goodie was the energy bar. It was chock full of fruits, nuts, and seeds, very tasty when toasted and coated in butter.

    energy bars cooling on rack

    Norbert never gave me the recipe. And I would have died before I asked for it. He scared me.

    So, I monkeyed in the kitchen a few years ago to recreate the energy bars of my memory. These are fabulous. I can’t keep them in the house; my kids eat them up too quickly.

    These bars are a part of a recipe collection known as Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook. Yep, these are very freezer friendly. So, bake up a batch and hide them from your kids in the freezer to enjoy later.

    energy bars, split and toasted, with butter
    Print Recipe Add to Collection Go to Collections
    4.41 from 5 votes

    Wholesome Energy Bars

    Enjoy these whole grain, nut- and fruit- filled rolls. They are delicious split and toasted and served with a bit of butter.
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time20 mins
    Course: Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 24
    Calories: 127kcal
    Author: Jessica Fisher
    Cost: $4
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup milk
    • 3 tablespoon olive oil
    • 3 tablespoon honey
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 cup whole-wheat flour
    • 2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
    • ½ cup oat flour
    • ¼ cup cornmeal
    • 1 tablespoon orange zest (from 1 orange)
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ¼ cup dried cranberries
    • ¼ cup golden raisins
    • ¼ cup raisins
    • ¼ cup sunflower seeds
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Combine all of the ingredients in your bread machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Program the machine for the dough setting and start it.
    • Grease a baking sheet. When the cycle is complete, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press the dough into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Cut into 12 rectangles and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
    • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Allow the bars to rise for about 20 minutes.
    • Bake the bars for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool the bars on a rack.
    • Freezing instructions: Place the cooled bars in the freezer bag and seal, removing as much air as possible. Freeze.
    • To thaw and serve: Thaw the desired number of bars at room temperature. Serve at room temperature, or cut the bars in half horizontally, toast, and serve with butter.

    Notes

    Nutritional values are approximate and are based on making 24 bars from the recipe. Freeze or use within 4 days.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 19IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag Me Today!Mention @goodcheapeatsblog or tag #goodcheapeats!
    « Turkey Cheddar Melt with Grilled Onions and Spicy Mayo
    Fajita Omelet – A Spicy Start to the Day »
    FacebookTweetPinPrint

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. HH

      July 22, 2021 at 9:07 pm

      5 stars
      Came out great! I didn’t have an orange handy so added a bit more milk and some lemonade concentrate as well as lemon zest.
      I thought recipe was unclear as to what parts of the orange to use in addition to the zest.

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        July 24, 2021 at 7:46 am

        Thanks so much for your feedback. I appreciate your taking the time. I updated the recipe to make it clearer. (It’s just orange zest.) Glad your adaptations worked so well!

        Reply
    2. YJ

      July 28, 2020 at 3:46 am

      5 stars
      This is the recipe I need for the bread machine. Never have left a review before I tried a recipe but I know that they will be great. Don’t have cornmeal so will throw in something else. Thanks.

      Reply
    3. Jamie

      January 25, 2016 at 9:22 am

      Does anyone have the nutritional facts on these? Calories, fat, etc?

      Reply
    4. Susan Hoff

      October 18, 2015 at 8:42 am

      I once had a deli close by that made these – like 20 years ago – and I loved them! I haven’t found them anywhere since then, and now I can make them myself! Thanks for working out Norbert’s details. I liked them toasted with peanut butter back then. I will be trying these this week. Thank you, again, and again!

      Reply
    5. Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef

      February 11, 2013 at 7:01 pm

      i can’t wait to try these! yum!

      Reply
    6. coleen

      February 11, 2013 at 4:31 pm

      Thanks, can’t wait to try these!

      Reply
    7. Megan

      February 11, 2013 at 1:44 pm

      I love making these with almond extract instead of the vanilla and subbing in chopped almonds for the sunflower seeds. I usually try and change up the dried fruit too, depending what’s in my pantry. I love dried cherries in these bars!

      Reply
    8. Brandi

      February 11, 2013 at 9:26 am

      Yum yum yum! Love these so much! I often eat one cut in half, toasted, with butter and some milk for a quick but healthy breakfast. My 3 year old is weirded out by the seeds but loves the flavor, next batch I’ll skip the seeds for her.

      Reply
    9. Lee Anne

      February 11, 2013 at 5:27 am

      So glad to see you back at good cheap eats. I missed you after the everyday update from the pantry challenge. 🙂

      Reply
      • Jessica

        February 12, 2013 at 7:51 am

        @Lee Anne, thanks!

        Reply
    10. Deb

      February 11, 2013 at 3:51 am

      Is each bar = 2 servings? The recipe says to cut in to 12 bars, but it says it is 24 servings

      Reply
      • Jessica

        February 11, 2013 at 3:25 pm

        Half a bar is pretty filling, IMO.

        Reply
    11. Sandi

      February 10, 2013 at 8:32 pm

      For those of us without a bread machine, would we just mix it all together? Is anything else necessary?

      Reply
      • Jessica

        February 10, 2013 at 8:51 pm

        @Sandi, make them like typical bread dough. Proof the yeast in the liquids, add the dry. Knead until dough ball is elastic and smooth.

        Reply
      • Jen

        February 17, 2013 at 4:56 am

        @Sandi, I made these by hand yesterday, and it was a bit of a difficult job. Kneading whole flours is harder, imho, than just all-AP, and I ended up adding a little more liquid as I couldn’t knead away dry patches. Kneading in the fruits/seeds was a challenge, too, because of the very little give of the dough. I just kept at it, though, and smooshed a bunch of what fell out to the tops. Mine didn’t quite rise enough–next time, I might give them 40 rather than 20 minutes–and they’re a bit hard to slice. I popped a mostly-sliced one into the micro for 30 seconds this morning and added a bit of butter, and it was worth all the trouble! 🙂

        Reply
        • Jessica

          February 17, 2013 at 10:36 am

          @Jen, thanks for sharing your experience making them by hand. That is super helpful!

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    jessica from good cheap eats

    Hi, I'm Jessica! I believe anyone can prepare delicious meals -- no matter their budget.

    More about me

    collage of media outlets where good cheap eats has been featured.
    cooking for one
    cooking for many banner
    cooking to freeze banner

    Best Easter Recipes

    • tray of scalloped potatoes on the dinner table with other platters of food.
      Scalloped Potatoes (No Cheese, No Flour)
    • overhead shot of easter egg veggie tray.
      Easter Veggie Tray
    • sliced holiday ham on white oval platter.
      40+ Budget Easter Dinner Menu Ideas
    • close up of platter of crockpot ham with cranberry and parsley garnish.
      Slow Cooker Ham
    • close up of air fryer asparagus on white platter.
      Air Fryer Asparagus
    • close up of a square of carrot cake on a white plate.
      30+ Best Easter Dessert Recipes

    Take the Pantry Challenge

    • badge that says, I'm taking the pantry challenge at Good Cheap Eats
      Prepping for a Pantry Clean Out
    • overhead shot of cans and boxed ingredients in a flatlay.
      How to Stock the Pantry on a Budget
    • homemade light brown sugar in white bowl.
      90+ Pantry Staples You Can Make Yourself
    • bowl of soup with spoon of vegetables.
      What to Make for Dinner When There’s “Nothing” to Eat

    Footer

    back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • About

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Good Cheap Eats