Tag Archives: medjool

Sensational Seed and Nut bars

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Healthy, easy to make seed and nuts bars, or just seed bars if you leave the nuts out as the ones above. This recipe is very flexible and l know there are heaps of other bar recipes on the web but this one suits me, my lifestyle, tastes and food choices. The ingredients are all wonderful and you can add more or less of each seed and it wont matter. To be adventurous you could add herbs, raw cacao, cinnamon or garlic and l may start experimenting a bit now l have this basic recipe worked out. The ones in the picture above do not have nuts or coconut, but l prefer the batch l made today which included them. I use organic and activated ingredients but it is up to you and your preferences. Regular nuts and seeds will work well, but l need to support my digestion and overall health as much as possible so use the best ingredients l can.

Ingredients:

1 cup activated organic sunflower seeds

1 cup activated organic pumpkin seeds

1 cup organic sesame seeds

1 cup black chia seeds

1 cup activated mixed nuts (I used walnut, almond and brazil)

A generous 1/2 cup organic shredded coconut

8 Medjool Dates seeded and chopped (roughly chop just to make it easier for the food processor)

A good 1/2 cup raw organic honey (use organic or regular honey if that is what you have or even rice malt syrup)

A good 1/2 cup organic coconut oil

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Place the nuts, seeds, shredded coconut and dates in the food processor and chop until roughly chopped. Tip this into a good sized glass bowl. I used the same measuring cup for the organic coconut oil and raw organic honey and with both in there it should look really full. Put the coconut oil in the cup first so it is easier to remove.

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Melt the coconut oil and honey in a saucepan on very low heat. You don’t want it too hot so remove from the heat just before it is all melted. Give it a stir and then pour it into the seed, nut, date and shredded coconut mix. Stir well and taste test. It should be delicious and sweet.

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Place a sheet of grease proof paper over a baking tray and run your finger around the edge to make a crease. Pour the mix onto the tray and flatten with a soft spatula or the back of a spoon. Make sure it is quite even across the whole tray and give special attention to the corners.

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I have tried a few different oven temperatures and times but basically you don’t want the oven too hot as you will burn the seeds and lose lots of nutrients, and you want to just cook it until the edges are going golden. I cooked mine today in a Fan Forced Convection Oven at 170 Degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. You will be able to check this after your first batch.

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Remove the tray from the oven and let cool until cold. I left mine for about 1.5 hours.

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Use the edges of the baking paper to carefully remove the bars as a whole from the tray and lay it on a flat bench. Cut the bars while still on the baking paper into whatever size suits you using a very sharp knife and wiping clean after cutting a row. I think it is better to have the bars quite small as then you have more of a choice over serving size.

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Carefully lift each bar into the container for freezing unless you are going to eat them all fresh. If they are a bit crumbly you can place the whole lot into the freezer with a cutting board underneath so they harden a bit before placing in the tub.

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The best part of the whole cooking experience is eating the crumbs. Scrape them off the baking paper and into a bowl. Enjoy! You could dip something into these crumbs such as a banana or use them as a topping.

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Snack bars-all natural

 

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Another lunch box filler or sweet snack to fill in the holes that are left by following a restricted diet. These snack bars are crunchy and sweet eaten straight from the freezer which is how l prefer them, but if l pack them in my lunch box for work l use a cool block so they stay cool. The raw organic honey, medjool dates and organic coconut oil provide the elements of sweetness and stickiness that helps to hold the bars together. Everything in these bars is healthy and natural and the best part is scraping the bits off the tray and eating them while still warm. See if you can resist!

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I like to make things in bulk and freeze them but if this doesn’t suit you then just halve the recipe. If you halve it just use one baking tray instead of two. It can be good to start with a smaller quantity as it often takes a few goes to get a recipe right or to make adaptations to it that suit you.

Ingredients:

1 cup Almond Meal (I keep mine in the fridge)

1 cup organic shredded coconut

1 cup organic sesame seeds (I also keep all of my seeds and nuts in the fridge)

1 cup of Pepitas

1 cup of Sunflower Seeds

1 cup of Chia Seeds

2 cups of chopped nuts (I used walnuts almonds and macadamias)

2 teaspoons organic cinnamon

12 medjool dates seeded and chopped

4 generous tablespoons raw organic honey (or organic honey)-warm so it is just a liquid

1 good cup of organic coconut oil-warm so it is a liquid

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Method:

Place the nuts and dates in the food processor and pulse. Add all of the other dry ingredients and mix well. Place in a bowl and mix through the liquid honey and coconut oil. This is the time for a taste test. Yum!

Grease the two trays well with coconut oil (one if halving the recipe) and place half of the mixture on each tray. Spread the mixture evenly over the tray and using an egg flipper push the mix down so it is flattened and compacted. Focus on the corners and edges also. Place the trays in a pre-heated 160 degree celcius oven and bake until the edges are quite golden. Around 30 minutes but it will depend on the oven.

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Let the trays cool for about five minutes and then run a sharp knife around the edge of the tray and carefully cut lines into the mix as shown in the picture. When the trays are completely cool, cover with cling wrap and place into the freezer for about one hour. Take the trays out of the oven and use a cake server to go around the edge of the tray and loosen the bars. Bend the tray slightly until you can see the bars lifting off the tray. Use the cake slicer to carefully lift each piece out of the tray. Place into a container and put in the freezer. This is the time to scrape the leftover pieces off the tray and enjoy. So yummy!

If you have enjoyed this post please share it with a friend. I am also on Facebook at Holistic Wellness For Life and Twitter at Holistic Wellness@carolynlgray. Thanks Carolyn