Máchica and Pinol: The Ancestral Energy Bars of the Indigenous Americas. Recipe Included.

Now that energy bars have become trendy and I see them in every store, I find myself thinking about an energy food my brother and I used to eat as kids when we'd go to the highlands. They weren't bars—they'd give us a little pouch of this sweetened powder made with panela, which we'd consume when we went out to play in the morning. It was pinol.

Máchica and pinol were consumed in the Americas before the arrival of the Spanish. Of course, their ingredients evolved over time, adapting more to the customs and diet of the colonizers, but they remained, to some extent, an analog to the modern energy bars consumed today.

Máchica

Máchica is an ancestral Inca food made from the fine grinding of cereal grains, mainly corn and quinoa; but with the arrival of Spanish colonization, BARLEY predominated. This grinding process preserves the nutrients and facilitates digestion. Máchica is presented in flour form and can be used as a base for preparing various dishes, as well as for making homemade energy bars.

Below is a reference from an old dictionary of Andean terms, published in 1933.

Máchica is highly nutritious and rich in protein, dietary fiber, B-complex vitamins, and essential minerals like iron and calcium. These nutrients provide sustained energy to the body, improving physical and mental endurance. The Incas had thousands of kilometers of roads and traveled them on foot. Surely their diet had to be rich in calories to be able to sustain such enormous expenditure, especially if you were part of the army or a royal messenger.

Pinol

Pinol is another ancestral American food. The Aztecs made it from ground toasted corn, they also made it with amaranth, and they sweetened this mixture with panela or bee honey, thus creating a sort of natural and nutritious energy bar. The term pinol originated in the Nahuatl language, but later it also permeated the Andes to refer to máchica with panela (or piloncillo, as they call it in Mexico).

Pinol is also a valuable source of nutrients. It contains proteins, complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and healthy fats. These nutrients provide lasting energy to the body, which is especially beneficial for intense or prolonged physical activities. Additionally, pinol is rich in antioxidants, which help combat oxidative stress and protect the body's cells.

Both foods, máchica and pinol, stand out as healthy and natural options for obtaining energy. Unlike many commercial energy bars, which often contain additives and refined sugars, máchica and pinol are unprocessed foods free of artificial ingredients. Furthermore, their preparation is quite economical, which has resulted in their names and recipes being preserved to this day.

Make Your Own Energy Bar (Recipe)

After publishing the original article, several people asked me about the recipe for an energy bar using máchica, so after a lot of asking around among some friends, I ended up with one I really liked.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of máchica
• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare a square baking pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix the máchica and the rolled oats.
• In a small pot, heat the honey and peanut butter over medium heat until melted and well combined.
• Pour the honey and peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Add the nuts and dark chocolate chips and mix again.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly with a spatula to level the surface.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
• Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
• Enjoy your homemade máchica energy bars!

Note: You can store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for several days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

In summary, máchica and pinol are two ancestral foods from the Andes that resemble modern energy bars in terms of providing energy to the body. Both are rich in essential nutrients and offer benefits for physical and mental endurance. Moreover, they are healthy and natural options that can easily be incorporated into the daily diet. So the next time you need an energy boost, consider trying máchica or pinol, and enjoy the benefits of these ancestral foods.