Posted on May 14, 2019 by Emily Forbes
Months and months ago I was playing with a recipe to produce some nut-free energy bars. This was spurred on by a client who worked in food production so was unable to take any sort of nut into work. For convenience, I also wanted these to be bake-free. I had eaten an energy bar at some point which had quinoa and goji berries in it and that’s what I had in mind to recreate. Quinoa contains protein which is good for satiation which is why I thought it would make a good base for the bars and make a change from oats.
I played with all sorts of recipes trying to get it right. Raw quinoa, soaked, cooked. Nothing quite gave me the bar that I was imagining. Fast forward 6 months or so, and I have something that is half decent and I will make again.
Ingredients:
- 50g puffed quinoa
- 20g chia seeds
- 30g goji berries
- 60g chopped dried apricots
- 30g sunflower seeds
- 85g pumpkin seed butter
- half cup (125ml) maple syrup
- 1 Tbs coconut oil
Method:
- Place the dry ingredients in a bowl
- On low heat mix the maple syrup, seed butter and coconut oil together to combine
- Stir the wet and dry ingredients together and mix well
- Press into a lined baking sheet and set in the fridge
- Once set cut into the desired size
- I would store in the fridge until ready to eat as they tend to get a bit sticky if left out
This recipe can definitely be played with. If you want to add nuts you can. Or change the seed butter to a nut butter or another seed butter, I have played with sunflower seed butter too. Puffed quinoa is generally available at most health food stores these days, same with the seed butters. Have a go and let me know what you think. I might still play with the recipe further and keep you updated.
Emily x