This pinole recipe is 100% plant-based. It is light and provides quick calories during the run. Carry a few of these bars in a ziplock bag along with a bottle of water, and you are set for a long-distance run. On the course, as needed, pull out a bar and wash it down with plain water or any other hydration. Along with the calories this recipe also provides essential minerals such as magnesium, sodium, potassium, etc.

Ingredients

• 1 cup masa harina (cornmeal treated with lime)
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup of almonds
• 8-10 dates (seedless)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 tablespoon salt
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 teaspoon olive oil

Steps

1. Roast the corn flour on low heat. Keep in mind the original color, and let it roast to light brown. Keep eye on the pan, as the pan heats up, the flour starts getting brown very fast. Must keep turning or slow down the heat to ensure whole flour is roasted to light brown
   1. Once the flour is roasted, put the pan on the other side of the stove. If kept on the same burner where you roasted, even after the heat is turned off, it still has enough energy to continue to roast and burn the flour.
2. You can add Chia seeds to roast as well, or you can have them unroasted
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Put the almonds in the food processor and grind them for about 2 min. Now add dates, and cinnamon and process it for about 1 minute. Now add the rest of the ingredients, including olive oil and water. Process it for another minute or so until it forms a nice dough
5. Pull the dough out and make a dough roll on the countertop or something flat. Divide the rolled dough into equal sizes, maybe 6, or 7. Personal choice: how big of the size you wanna consume at a time.
6. Now make the shape of a bar out of portioned dough. Put it on a non-stick sheet and slide it into the oven for about 12 minutes.
7. Thereafter pull them out and let them cool. I know it will be hard to resist them, as they look so inviting. 
8. Once it is cooled off, you can consume it instantly or store it in a safe corner of the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Of course, like cookies, fresh is the best. The second best is its availability when you need it.
9. In this recipe, we did not use any sweetener, as we used dates. The recipe can be modified to use half brown sugar and half dates. You can use almond flour instead of almonds. 
10. Salt can be adjusted per taste and need. Runners lose a lot of sodium, which normally gets replenished with other electrolytes. This recipe provides both base electrolytes as well as calories.

Nutrition