Super Seed Bars
This is a recipe from Elissa Goodman, a nutritionist with a home delivery cleanse business in Los Angeles.
I love a good bar. A protein bar, energy bar ah yes, even a rice crispy treat if you want to play loosey-goosey with your definition of a bar (you know like when does a muffin become a cupcake kind of loosey-goosey… but let’s stay on point).
Bars are so convenient and satisfying that honestly, I need to be careful so as not skip whole foods in place with them. But still, a good bar is a good thing… so here we are.
What sets these bars apart is they are made from whole food ingredients, lightly sweetened with coconut nectar, are packed with hemp, chia and sunflower seeds and utilize delicious almond butter as the glue to keep them together. I love that they are packed with lots of seeds and fiber. They’re sweet without being too sweet with a little crunch from the rise crips - just enough to satisfy both the grown ups and kids alike. They’re wonderful packed in your kiddos lunch (or yours), great for a road trip or as an after sporting snack.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups gf rolled oats
1 ¼ cup brown rice crisps
¼ cup hemp seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds (raw or sprouted)
¼ cup shredded coconut unsweetened
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ sea salt
½ cup + 1 Tablespoon coconut nectar (see note below)
⅓ cup organic almond butter (I love Living Tree Community Foods Raw Almond Butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla powder
¼ cup of one of the following or go ahead and mix things up! goji berries, cacao nibs, mini chocolate chips, currants, freeze dried raspberries or blueberries or chopped dried cherries.
Directions
• Line a 9-inch square cake pan with two pieces of parchment paper (one going each direction).
• Add dry ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and combine.
• Heat up coconut nectar and almond butter on low to medium heat until it softens to combine. • Remove from heat when it starts to simmer. Let cool. Add vanilla and mix.
• Add almond butter mixture to dry ingredients and mix until well combined and binds together.
• Mix in berries or nibs. Add to the baking dish, press down and form a smooth, even layer.. • Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes or until firm.
• Use a sharp knife to cut into bars. Wrap individual bars in parchment.
Note on Coconut Nectar. Unfortunately, this is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Here is one you can order. You can also substitute raw unfiltered honey, maple syrup or pure date syrup. If you do, I find them to be a bit sweeter so you may need to tweak the amount a little (between one and three tablespoons less… depending on your flavor preference.