Adzuki Brownies

Back in the day I would buy those protein/energy bars. And they were okay. Kinda pricey, but I guess they did the job. But I started to cut out processed foods, then took it a step further went vegan (the first time) after that.  I found I felt better every day just by improving my diet in these two ways. But then I bumped up the intensity of my workouts. Now I was faced with the problem of how to get the protein my body needs to support my exercise regimen-without dairy or meat.

I found a product called Vega Sport. Bought their sample pack of products. Some of the products were ok. The chocolate saviseed bar was good, but the replenish beverages were chalky, thick, bitter and hard to swallow.  And I didn't really feel rejuvenated by the food I was eating. And the protein powder had a funny taste that didn't appeal to me.

I prefer to eat real food instead of processed energy bars.  I feel so much better.  The downside is that I'm cooking ALOT, and when I'm not cooking, I'm thinking about cooking. Ugh. Will I ever be unshackled from the kitchen?

Then I found Adzuki Bars.

This recipe was quickly launched into one of my all-time favorites.  You can find the recipe in Scott Jurek's book, Eat & Run.  They only require the use of the food processor, so clean up is easy. They freeze well and are portable. I grab two of these to chow down on after workouts and I feel better than if I eaten a protein bar. I make up a batch, bag them up and freeze them.  Then grab a bag before heading to the gym or out for a run.

Good thing for me is that only my daughter and I both like them-no one else does. So they last a while.  They are not too sweet. Made with Adzuki Beans (which I had never heard of before I tried this), so it has protein.  Very low sugar, which I like.

They call for rice and barley flour. So went to out local food coop to see if they have it. I met a nice lady there (another customer) who said she doesn't buy the ready made flours, she just makes her own.

Really?  Isn't that a lot of work?

Not really.  All you need is the product you want to turn into flour, in this case rice and barley, and a coffee grinder. And it's soooo much cheaper.

So I thought I'd try it. I'm all for saving money.  I already have a pretty nice coffee grinder that I never use.

I don't need that much for his recipe so I gave it a whirl. And as luck would have it I had rice and pearled barley in the pantry.

After just a minute, maybe less, I had flour.

Get the book and try them. If you don't like them, send them my way. I'll eat them.