3 Healthy Homemade Bar Recipes to Fuel Your Workouts

Fueling before and after a workout or pro cheer dance practice session is essential. It gives you the energy to sustain and complete your activities. It also helps your body recover faster because your muscles need protein to grow - meaning you’re less likely to experience muscle soreness.

But eating a full meal before a workout session can make you feel bloated, especially if you don’t have the time to let your body digest what you just ate. In worst-case scenarios, you’ll throw up, waste the food, and feel nasty that you won’t even finish your exercise or dance practice.

Therefore, we suggest eating energy bars as part of your pre and post-pro cheer activity routine. They’re light, packed with macronutrients, easy to make, and won’t take up too much space in your bag. Want to know the recipes you can make at home? Read on and find out.

5-ingredient peanut bar

Peanuts are rich in protein, carbohydrates, fiber, healthy fats (mono and polyunsaturated), vitamins (B’s and E), and minerals (manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium). These are energy-giving nutrients that support your dance moves or burn unwanted fats. This recipe doesn’t require baking and can be prepared in 20 minutes - a perfect pre-workout snack for your morning exercise routine.

Get the recipe here.

Dried fruit bar

If you’re allergic to peanuts then you should switch to an energy bar alternative such as this recipe. Instead of nuts, this bar is made of Medjool dates, almond butter, quinoa, oats, coconut flakes, chia seeds, and whey protein.

The almond butter unsweetened coconut flakes of this recipe are rich in dietary fiber and carbohydrates. They will help you stay full without leading to a bad energy crash after eating. All in all, it’s a good bar for sustaining your energy during a long fitness and dance practice session.

Get the recipe here.

Granola-To-Go bar

During your meal prep sessions, it’s best to bake this recipe because it requires a lot of ingredients. You’re surely not going to regret it due to its taste and nutritional content. Even half a bite of this bar is enough to keep you alert and energized as it uses brown sugar, cranberries, and apples - all rich in carbohydrates.

Yes, the brown sugar part does sound unappealing. But don’t worry, you’ll still have a good protein source from the chopped almonds, egg, and sunflower kernels so you can stay full. When it comes to energy crashes, the shredded coconut’s medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and fatty acids (MCFAs) will be your supplementary source of power once the carbohydrates from the fruit and sugar ingredients are used up.

Get the recipe here.

Please note that these recipes are intended to be your pre and post-workout food. Eating them without a following or prior physical activity will cause the nutrients to be stored as fat. So avoid eating them as your snacks, especially if you have no physical activity.

Check out more recipes to fuel your energy needs for pro cheer activities here!

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