Maca bars, made with the Peruvian superfood maca root, are available in health food stores and online. They often contain organic dark chocolate, coconut oil, and other high-quality ingredients, and can be made at home with nuts, dried fruit, and sweeteners like honey or agave nectar. Pink Himalayan sea salt, vanilla bean paste, and mesquite pods are also popular additions. Different flavors are available, but calorie-conscious consumers should check the packaging.
Health-conscious people with a sweet tooth can rejoice, because snack bars with maca are available in health food stores and online stores. These treats contain not only maca root but also often include pure certified organic dark chocolate, coconut oil, and vanilla, among other high-quality ingredients. Maca root is a Peruvian vegetable known to be a superfood with energy and healing properties. Consumers can purchase prepackaged maca bars, many of which contain dried fruits and nuts, or attempt to make these bars themselves.
In addition to deliciously sweet ingredients like chocolate, most maca bars also contain a plethora of beneficial ingredients. For example, pink Himalayan sea salt can be added to enhance the chocolate flavor, if included, and provide nutrients. Unlike white table salt, this is typically not stripped of its inherent minerals and supplies the body with essential salts. Raw honey and agave nectar often act as the sweeteners in maca bars, rather than the sugar. Agave nectar is derived from the thick leaves of the succulent agave plant, and raw honey usually contains bee pollen and a small amount of beeswax.
The golden raisins and Bahri dates, common in these treats, also give maca bars some sweetness and added nutrition. The dates are yellow and small. Once dried, they take on a dark golden color and their sweetness intensifies. Green grapes grown in the mountains are dried to create golden raisins. Slightly tarter than their darker cousins, these raisins counteract the sweetness of dates and agave or honey without making the maca bars bitter.
Other popular additions to maca bars are raw coconut oil, ground mesquite pods, and vanilla bean paste. Coconut oil is a thickener that helps the bars stay whole and prevents them from melting easily. This tropical oil also contains important fats that help humans absorb vitamins. The mesquite pods are high in protein and give each maca bar a slightly molasses-like background flavor. The vanilla bean paste can help bring out the flavors of each of the other ingredients.
Those who are health conscious and love sweets are not limited to just one type of maca bar. Many manufacturers also produce cherry, maple and white chocolate flavors. Foodies counting calories should check the packaging of each of these snacks, however, since white chocolate is mostly cocoa butter and the maple-flavored maca bar usually contains mostly sugars.
Home cooks who like to experiment, or just like to know exactly what they’re eating, can make maca bars at home. A common chocolate nut laced recipe generally calls for 1 part each of maca powder and coconut oil, 1/2 part each of almonds and cacao nibs, 1/8 part each of dates and golden raisins, as well as sea salt and honey or agave nectar to taste. The ingredients are blended together in a food processor, then should be patted into a baking sheet and frozen for up to two hours. The freezing process helps the ingredients marry, so they hold together even at room temperature.
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