Nut & Seed Bars

Nut & Seed Bars

(adapted from Barre3 "Barre" Recipe)

As you can tell, this is a very versatile recipe. If you like your bars sweeter, add some honey. If you don't have a particular seed or nut, sub it out with something you have. But you really do have to freeze them for about an hour, and store in fridge. Otherwise, they revert to mush balls. These were a hit with the fam!

Ingredients

6 dates, pitted

2 T. coconut oil

1⁄4 c. almond butter (or sunflower butter, or any nut butter, really)

1⁄4 c. dried goji berries (raisins work too)

2 t. ground cinnamon

1⁄4 c. shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

2 T. ground flaxseeds

2 T. chia seeds

2 T. amaranth (optional--adds nice crunch but seeds get stuck in your teeth)

3/4 c. mixed nuts 

1/4 c. pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds, or more nuts)

A couple pinches of sea salt (unless sunflower or almond butter is salted)

Handful of cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips 

Preparation

1. Line an 8x8 glass pan with parchment paper.

2. Place the pitted dates and coconut oil in the base of your food processor. Add the seed or nut butter. Whirl these three ingredients until blended.

3. Add the goji berries or raisins, the flax and chia, the cinnamon and the sea salt and pulse in the food processor until the mixture is well incorporated. It’s okay if it’s a bit chunky at this point. (I prefer it that way.)

4. Add the coconut, amaranth, nuts, seeds, and cacao nibs or chocolate chips and pulse until you have a chunky mass that looks like cookie dough. I like to keep the nuts mostly intact.

5. Scoop dough-like mixture into pan and firmly press the mixture down with the back of a spoon or your hands.

6. Store in the fridge for at least one hour to harden. Grab the edges of parchment and lift out to cut into bars. Store extras in the refrigerator.