No-Meat Athlete Energy Bars

The "dry" Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup oats
1 cup Grape Nuts cereal
3/4 cup raisins (I used golden)
1 cup shredded coconut (I could only find sweetened)
1/3 cup unsalted almonds, chopped
1/3 cup unsalted cashews, chopped
1 cinnamon stick, ground (or 2 tsp ground, but I totally recommend the taste of freshly ground!)

The "wet" ingredients:
2 tbs flax seed
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups cooked Great Northern Beans (or 1 15 oz can)
15 dates, seeds removed and chopped (about 1 cup or 1/2 a lb)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs honey
1 tbs canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce (I made mine on the stove by cooking two peeled and diced apples for about 30 minutes with 1/4 cup of water, 2 tbs pomegranate molasses, and 1 tbs maple syrup)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

If starting with dry beans, soak a half pound over night, then simmer for about one hour or until soft. If starting with canned, rinse well to remove saltiness. Chop the beans roughly either by hand or in a food processor. They don't need to be processed into a puree, just tiny pieces.

Grind the flax seed and mix it with the water, set aside to thicken.

Combine the dry ingredients together first and mix well. Add the wet ingredients and mix until uniformly incorporated. Press into a greased 9×13 pan or casserole dish. Bake for a total of 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. (Mine were finished at about 23 minutes). Cool completely, then cut into 24 bars. I cut a line down the middle of the pan lengthwise then 12 cuts across. Leave unwrapped for harder bars; put in airtight container for softer bars. Toast cut bars in the toaster oven for a crispy outside. If keeping longer than one week, wrap and freeze.

Nutrition facts for whole pan / one bar

calories from fat: 919 / 38.3
calories: 3779.3 / 157
fat: 105 / 4.4
sat fat: 30 / 1.25
protein: 109.2 / 4.6
sodium: 1584.3 / 66
total carbs: 713 / 29.7
sugar: 333 / 13.9
fiber: 178.2 / 7.4