Muesli bars: tasty, simple and healthy

Now more and more people are trying to switch to a healthy diet. A product called “muesli bar” has gained particular popularity. This is partly due to numerous advertisements on television and the Internet. What are the benefits of this product and can you make muesli yourself?

Muesli bars - what are their benefits?

These bars were originally created as a dietary product. They were developed by a Swiss doctor, M. Benner, at the very beginning of the 20th century. Later, cereal bars began to be popular with all people who follow a healthy diet. This product reached the peak of its popularity in the 60s of the last century.

This dessert still tops the list of the most purchased products from the healthy food line. But recently, the benefits of these bars have begun to be refuted. Moreover, there are experts who claim that this product does nothing but harm to the body.

And yet muesli has many advantages:

• They are very convenient on the go and do not require special storage conditions. They are inexpensive and keep you full for a long time.
• Due to their high energy value, these bars have become an excellent replacement for a full breakfast. They are delicious, relieve hunger for a long time and do not require cooking.
• Muesli contains many components, which means it has all the necessary supply of useful microelements.
• Unlike regular porridge, where the grains are subject to heat treatment and therefore have lost a significant part of their nutritional value, in muesli bars all the beneficial properties of the grains are preserved.
• Unprocessed grain has an excellent effect on intestinal motility and normalizes the activity of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Grains are an excellent source of fiber, necessary for normal metabolic processes in the body. Under the influence of fiber, fats are broken down and the concentration of cholesterol is reduced.
• Grains contain a lot vitamins, belonging to group B, trace elements calcium and magnesium. The list of bar ingredients almost always includes nuts, which contain many polyunsaturated fatty acids that have a positive effect on health and appearance.
• There are also a lot of vitamins in dried fruits, which are usually included in the components of the bar.
• The process of digesting muesli takes a long time. Due to this, you will feel full for a long time. Muesli contains both fast-acting and slow-acting carbohydrates, so you won't experience sudden spikes in blood glucose.
• Muesli bars can become a substitute for harmful snacks and remove the craving for sweets.

Muesli bars calories

The basis of any muesli bar is cereals in the form cereal. In addition to them, they must include additives - dried fruits, nuts, dried berries, etc.

Despite all the beneficial qualities, certain types of bars should still be avoided. This applies primarily to bars with chocolate or chocolate coating, honey or fats and coconut flakes. All these supplements carry additional calories, which do not contribute to slimming.

Muesli bars are high in calories. Some of their types have up to 500 kcal for every hundred grams of product. If sugar, honey or chocolate is added to the bar, the calorie content increases even more.

Homemade muesli bar

Before you start making homemade granola bars, you need to choose the ingredients. For example, instead of butter, you can take fruit puree. In this case, the bar will have a delicate taste and pleasant aroma. The main rule is to maintain proportions. For the rest, you can replace the cereal with mixtures, seeds with nuts and supplement it all with your favorite dried fruits.

Place 250 g oatmeal flakes, 4 large spoons each of peeled pumpkin and sunflower seeds, 2 large spoons of sesame seeds and 50 g each of yellow and black raisins into a large bowl. Cut 100 g of dates and dried apricots into small pieces, removing the seeds from the dates. Now mix both parts. Puree 150 g of strawberries and blackberries and pass it through a sieve. Grate one medium apple and mix with berry puree. Add the resulting mass to the rest of the mixture. Separately, mix 70 g of honey and 60 g of butter and heat over low heat to form a syrup. Stir in other ingredients.

Now put baking paper in the mold and place the prepared mixture into it, compacting it well. Place the pan in the oven and bake at 150 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Cool the finished bar. Then pour in pre-melted chocolate and refrigerate for several hours.