homemade nature bars with a secret super-food ingredient

Who doesn’t love a good snack! Right? Especially one that is so good, chewy and crunchy, not to mention nutritious & delicious ;D I like to know what’s in my food and my snacks – and sometimes it’s hard to find a product with the right ingredients. (or I do find them, but they can be on the expensive side)

We made our own Homemade Nature Bars recently, and really loved them. Best of all they were really (surprisingly) simple to make. My sous chef was eager to help and like always, she was a great recipe tester – and gave the seal of approval for kids also!

HOMEMADE NATURE BARS

{no-bake: vegan, nut-free, wheat-free with gluten-free option }

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Kamut cereal puffs (Nature’s Path) (or rice puffs if gluten-free)
• 1/2 cup of dates, pitted and soaked, then mixed into a paste
• 1/4 cup of millet flakes (or oatmeal)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
• 2 – 4 tbsp coconut flakes, unsweetened
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds (Ecoideas Nutri Crunch Toasted Hemp Seeds)

Directions: Start by soaking the pitted dates for about 15 minutes to 1 hr. (use warm water to prep faster), drain but reserve the water. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together. It should stick together, if not add just a little water from the dates and mix again. It should not be wet however. On a portable flat surface, a dish or cutting board, lay a sheet of parchment paper and scoop out the mixture.  Shape into a rectangle and flatten as tight as possible. Cover and place into the fridge for 1-2 hrs (or even until the next day). (makes 5-6 bars, depending how you cut them) (double the ingredients for a larger batch)

Remove from fridge and cut into smaller rectangular pieces lengthwise. Wrap individual pieces in small squares of parchment paper.  For this, I got a little help ;) Then it’s best to place them back into the fridge so they hold their shape better.

Want to know what the SECRET INGREDIENT is in these babies?

The star super-food ingredient in these Homemade Nature Bars are Hemp Seeds! The Ecoideas Nutri Crunch toasted Hemp seeds are seasoned with Himalayan Crystal Salt and are certified organic. They are a fantastic source of Omega 3 and 6 – and: (get ready for this) they are loaded with: Fibre, Potassium, Iron, Vitamin E, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper and Manganese. (this is where you can buy Nutri Crunch Hemp seeds.)

These are just the hemp seeds alone that are so nutritious (wonder if the hippies knew that! ;D) So this is another reason why I like making these Nature Bars from scratch – I was looking for a great way to add these little nutritional gems into!

We made the mixture one evening and shaped them into individual pieces. My daughter had a lot of fun with this step, as you can see. Sometimes the little hands can do more than we think. Why not give them the opportunity to create food from scratch, learn about how to turn simple ingredients into something that together is delicious and satisfying.

I used kamut puffs because we are not 100% gluten free, and I like the texture and flavour of Kamut puffs. (but you can substitute with rice puffs if you would like these gluten-free.) These are also nut-free so it’s a great snack kids can bring to school. You could also use fresh shredded coconut meat, but only if you know they will get eaten up quickly and if they are kept in the fridge. Fresh coconut is only fresh for up to two days. So I used dried unsweetened coconut flakes – this way these are super awesome even on the 3rd day – and if you seal them in an air-tight container will stay fresh for up to one week. The dates are your only source of sugar in this recipe – and it sure is enough sugar. You could throw in some raisins for more sweetness or chocolate chips if you wanted to make it more of a treat. (I have a secret, the little black dots in our bars are actually little chocolate chips that my daughter insisted we must add ;D But I didn’t include them in the official recipe ~ but you sure can.) Either way – they will taste great!

We have a few left over and we’ll be heading out soon for a nature walk on our trails into the woods, and give these Homemade Nature Bars a test in the wild outdoors…. who wants to come with us?

If you’re intimidated about making your own nature bars ~ it couldn’t be easier. I love a quick ‘treat’ recipe that doesn’t have to be baked ~ and I’m sure you do to. The only problem is that these don’t stay around for too long ;D xo

(not sponsored – just wanted to share some good-for-you products that I personally enjoy)