Good Food, Good Life, 365 – Nuts & Seeds Breakfast Bars
Nuts & Seeds Breakfast Bars
1 1/2 cups nuts and seeds of choice (I like a mix of raw sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, and raw cashews)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 cup coconut flakes, toasted (put the coconut in a pan on the stove over medium heat and stir until golden. Immediately transfer to a plate to cool)
1/2 cup dried fruit of choice (I like chopped dried apricots. Dennis likes dried cranberries or dried tart cherries)
1/2 cup creamy nut butter of your choice (I use almond butter or cashew butter)
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line an 8-inch square baking dish with enough parchment paper so that it comes up over the sides of the dish. These will be your handles for pulling the bars out of the dish. They are much easier to cut when they are on a flat work surface.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the nuts and seeds, toasted coconut, dried fruit, and chia seeds. Set aside.
Stir nut butter, maple syrup and coconut oil together and heat to melt in a small pan over medium heat until mixture is smooth and has a pourable consistency. Stir in salt, cinnamon and vanilla.
Pour heated mixture over nuts & seeds mixture and stir until dry mixture is completely coated with nut butter/maple syrup mixture.
Dump mixture into prepared baking dish and press down to make a firm, even layer.
Cover and place in refrigerator for at least an hour before cutting.
Store the bars in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a couple weeks or in the freezer for a few months.
Sue’s TipI usually toast the nut/seed mixture before mixing. Once I’ve toasted the coconut, I dump it out of the pan to cool, and put the nuts and seeds into the same pan and toast on the stove over medium heat. Toasting is not imperative but it does result in better flavor.
