A YOUNG cyclist who experimented in his kitchen during lockdown has written a cereal bar recipe book to help people make ‘extremely tasty’ and healthy snacks.
Tom Couzens, from Bicester, has published his book titled 'Natural Energy' after perfecting his 50 different recipes during the first nationwide lockdown.
The 19-year-old decided to write the book after he saw more people exercising when restrictions were first imposed.
Mr Couzens, who has been an Oxford Mail and Bicester Advertiser delivery agent for five years, said: “I noticed that more and more people were becoming active, such as getting out on their bikes or running, and that was great to see.
“In response I created a book with the aim of providing people with the recipes to 50 extremely tasty cereal bars that they can make at home very easily.
“It includes people’s favourite flavours and sweet treats such as Snickers, Nutella, sticky toffee pudding and gingerbread: these are healthier and are equally tasty as their counterparts.”
The cyclist, who races on a national and international scale, says the energy bars are easy to make and he has made the £5 book available via PDF to make it cheaper, easier, and quicker for people to access.
He added: “The bars are designed to be as healthy and easy to make as possible. This means that simple instructions and a small handful of ingredients make up each bar so that anyone is capable of making them.
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“The base ingredients for each recipe include oats and then either golden syrup or honey along with a variety of dried fruits, nuts and bananas to make each bar as tasty as possible.
“They are perfect to pop into your bag when heading to the gym or out for a run, or in your lunchbox to take to work or for your child to enjoy at school.
“With this book I hope to inspire people to start eating healthier foods and lead more active lifestyles.”
People have already tried putting his recipes to the test, with one person, Lindsay Atkinson-Wright, saying: “This book is great. I made Pecan Pie and Coffee & Walnut so far. Both fab and they don’t disintegrate in your pocket. Easy ingredients, minimum faff.”
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Mr Couzens has been cycling for seven years and races for the Montezuma Race Team for cyclocross. He has recently signed for Spirit Tifosi for next year’s road season.
He spent three months this summer living in Italy training and racing all over the country and also represented Great Britain at the cyclocross European Championships in the Netherlands last month. If you would like to buy Natural Energy, email couzenst@gmail.com.
How to make Tom's Chocolate Peanut energy bar
Ingredients
150g oats
100g peanuts
100g dates
3 tbsp golden syrup
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Place your dates in a bowl of boiling water to soak and soften for 10 minutes.
- Place the oats, peanuts and dates into a food processer and pulse until broken into
smaller pieces. Add a splash of water if needed to help break up the mixture.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until you have a smooth mixture.
- Press the mixture into a tray lined with baking parchment making sure to properly
compress the mixture together so that it stays together.
- Place in the fridge overnight before cutting into the desired number of bars with a
sharp knife, wrapping in parchment and placing back in the fridge until ready to eat.
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