Recipe Update: I received and inquiry from a person looking to bake large batches of this recipe to sell at a bake sale. I explained that this particular recipe may not be the best choice because the bars are a bit brittle and crumbly. While they are great for the home they may not travel well. I have created a new version of this recipe which uses dried apricots and peanut butter as binding agents which make a for a stronger bar. See recipe # 2 below.
Nut and Seed Power Bars
Heat Oven To 350°
Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Flax Seed 1/4 Cup Almond Meal 1/4 Cup Coconut, unsweetened 1/4 Cup Squash Seed, roasted, salted 1/4 Cup Peanut, roasted, salted 1/4 Cup Hemp Seed 1/4 Cup Sesame Seed, whole 1/4 Cup Sunflower Seed
1 Cup Raisins 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour, regular or white 1 Egg 1/4 Cup Agave Nectar or Honey 1/4 Cup Oil, Canola or Olive
1 tsp. Oil For Baking Dish, spray or brush
Lightly beat egg inside a mixing bowl.
Place all other ingredients, minus one teaspoon oil, into bowl.
Use your fingers to toss and mix ingredients together.
Lightly oil a small two quart baking dish.
Pour ingredients into dish.
Note: Do not use any dish larger that two quarts because the bars will be too thin.
Use your hands to press ingredients into one large sheet.
Place dish into oven; bake for 22 minutes.
Remove dish from oven and let cool for at least one hour.
Bars must be cool before cutting.
Bars can be cut in the dish or carefully remove and cut on cutting board.
Cut into 12 bars.
Recipe # 2 Revised recipe for a more sturdy bar which is better for lunch boxes and bake sales.
Place the first 10 ingredients (flax seed through whole wheat flour) from the original recipe into a mixing bowl.
The new ingredients are:
10 Apricots, dry, unsweetened 2 Tbs. Peanut Butter, natural 2 Tbs. Agave or Honey 4 Tbs. Oil, olive or canola 1 Egg 2 Tbs. Water
Place all of the new ingredients into a food processor.
Run machine for a minute or two, turning ingredients into a thick puree.
Use a rubber spatula to remove every last drop of puree.
Add puree to bowl with all other ingredients.
Mix and kneed all ingredients together.
This recipe will produce a heavier dough that needs more effort in the mixing stage.
You may want to use a mixing bowl and paddle if you have an electric mixer.
Place dough into an oiled 2 quart baking dish.
Follow all of the instructions from the original recipe from this point on.
The cooked and cooled bars will be easier to cut that the original recipe.
I like them both exactly the same!
New Taste Thinking:
This recipe calls for a number of different seeds and nuts. You may have some in your pantry already. If you need to purchase some of the ingredients I would suggest shopping at a store that stocks these items in bulk. The two advantages of bulk buying are; you can simply measure and purchase the exact amount of any ingredient needed for a particular recipe and bulk is the greenest way to buy items because you save on the packaging process.
The best way to store the bars after cooking is to just leave them out on a plate or in the baking dish with a loose fitting cover.
Quick Story: I was traveling last week and found myself with so very few healthy food options. I decided to buy my first ever power/nutrition bar made by a well known manufacturer. Well to my surprise the bar was just a cross between a cookie and candy bar. No wonder people are buying these bars. I honestly have no problem with cookies and candy bars. I seldom/never eat them but at least we all know what they are and what we are getting when we have one. They were invented a long time ago and we can not un-invent them. The real crime is when large companies identify new trends and purposely take advantage of a confused public. They are advertising and selling supposedly healthy power bars that are nothing more than cookies and candy bars, full of white sugars and white flour. They are intentionally trying to deceive us by passing them off as healthy.
