Tag: snack bars

Slow Cooker Coconut Granola Bars

Melissa King 61 Comments

Slow Cooker Coconut Granola Bars.  I love my slow cooker. I try and make as many things in it as possible.  I have made slow cooker soups, slow cooker glazed nuts and slow cooker breakfast quinoa.

However, I had never thought to make cookies or granola bars in the slow cooker!  So when I saw this recipe on Lauren Kelly Nutrition, I knew I just had to try it!  If you haven’t checked out her blog, you should!  Lots of good gluten free recipes.

 

Slow Cooker Coconut Granola Bars - My Whole Food Life

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Healthier Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Melissa King 39 Comments

Who doesn’t have memories of making and eating rice crispy treats as a kid?  Let’s take a look at the ingredients in the store bought version taken off their website.  I couldn’t find the peanut butter ingredients, but here is everything in the original flavor:

TOASTED RICE CEREAL (RICE, SUGAR, SALT, MALT FLAVORING, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), MARSHMALLOW (CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, GELATIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), FRUCTOSE, MARGARINE (VEGETABLE OIL [SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS], WATER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL BUTTER FLAVOR [CONTAINS MILK], DATEM, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, BHT FOR FRESHNESS, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D), CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF DEXTROSE, GLYCERIN, SALT, NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), SOY LECITHIN.

Wow!  That’s a lot of ingredients!  Plus a lot of things I try to avoid.  My recipe contains just 4 ingredients.

Rice Krispy Treats Watermark

I wanted to create a healthier version for my kids.  It took me 3 tries to get it right, but the end product is really good with no added sugar.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Healthier Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 10 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups rice cereal (I used Barbara's Brown Rice Crisps)
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 12 medjool dates (pits removed)
  • 3 T coconut oil (measure after melting)
  • water

Instructions

  1. In a food processor , mix the dates with enough water so a syrup starts to form. 
  2. The syrup should be thicker, almost like a caramel.  I used about 1/4 cup water. 
  3. Once the dates are in a syrup, transfer them to a saucepan with the peanut butter and coconut oil. 
  4. Stir on medium heat just enough to soften the peanut butter and combine all the ingredients. 
  5. Once that is done, add them to a bowl with the cereal and mix until everything is well combined.
  6. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper to stick out the sides. 
  7. Pack the mixture down tight and stick it in the fridge to set. 
  8. Once it’s set, pull the bars out using the parchment paper and cut into squares with a pizza cutter .

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Recipe Notes

My bars were thick. If you want a thinner bar, use a slightly bigger pan. I got 9 squares out of my batch. They should last a couple weeks in the fridge. Enjoy!

Maca Energy Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free and Paleo)

Melissa King 136 Comments

Maca Energy Bars.  When you start reading all about eating healthy, there are certain foods that come up.  Kale, chia seeds, goji berries and maca are just some of them.  I was curious about maca root powder, so I had to get a bag to try out.

It is pretty pricey, but it lasts a long time.  Kind of like the chia seeds. Maca root is a tuber, kind of like a potato.  It is very well known as a natural energy booster.  It can also help with hormonal issues such as menopause and fertility.

Maca is rich in B vitamins as well.  So I decided to make an energy bar with it.  This energy bar is not only vegan, but grain free and gluten free too.

 

Maca Energy Bars

Maca Energy Bars

Maca Energy Bars

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 10 min

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a food processor , grind the almonds into a course consistency. 
  2. Add them to a bowl with the sunflower seeds, maca powder, flax meal, pepitas, chia seeds and salt. 
  3. In a saucepan, combine the maple syrup, almond butter and coconut oil. 
  4. Mix until all are well combined. 
  5. Add it to the bowl with the dried ingredients. 
  6. Tear a sheet of parchment slightly bigger than an 8X8 pan .
  7. Line an 8X8 pan with the paper. 
  8. Spread in the mixture and pack down tight . 
  9. Place in the fridge to set.  About 1 hour.

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Recipe Notes

I got 8 bars out of my batch. Store them in the fridge or even freeze them for longer storage. Enjoy!

Nut Free Snack Bars

Melissa King 37 Comments

Let’s face it, a lot of schools are going nut free these days.  As a mom of a child with many food allergies, I totally get it.  That’s why I am trying to create some nut free snacks.  This one came out real good and it is so simple to make!

Nut Free Bars FG watermark

They were a hit with my daughter and husband.  One of the other great things about this bar is that it is only fruit sweetened.  No added sugar at all!  It almost reminds me of an apple cinnamon KIND bar.  I cooked mine for a few minutes, but I almost thing they can be made raw too.

Nut Free Snack Bars

Nut Free Snack Bars

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 10 min

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. 
  2. Mix the cereal, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, vanilla bean and sea salt in one bowl . 
  3. In the food processor , mix the apples, dates and water until a syrup forms.  It will be slightly thick. 
  4. Get a sheet or parchment paper a little larger than the size of your pan, so you have some hanging out the sides.  I used an odd sized pan.  I think it was a 5X13?  A standard 8X8 pan will work just fine.
  5. Once the syrup forms, add that to the dry mixture and mix well. 
  6. Once everything is mixed, transfer the mixture to your baking pan. 
  7. Make sure the parchment is lining the pan first. 
  8. Once everything is in the pan,  press the mixture down firmly. 
  9. Bake for about 10 minutes. 
  10. When it cools, remove the bars from the pan by grabbing the parchment paper sides. 
  11. Cut into bars or squares with a pizza cutter .

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Recipe Notes

I got about 10 bars out of my batch. These should last a week or two. You can even freeze them for longer storage.

Almond Butter Protein Bars (Vegan)

Melissa King 117 Comments

Almond Butter Protein Bars.  Have I told you how much I love almond butter?  I eat it almost daily.  One of my favorite healthy sweet snacks is a date stuffed with almond butter.

If you haven’t tried it yet, you really should.  Totally curbs a sweet tooth!  So I created these almond butter protein bars with that snack in mind.

 

almond butter protein bars

 

These would be a great pre/post workout snack.  Most of the protein shakes on the market are full of unwanted ingredients or too much processed sugar.

Why not try these instead?  They are filled with wholesome ingredients.  They can be made in minutes and you could enjoy one with my Energizing Green Juice.

To watch a video of just how easy this is to make on your own, watch me below.  For more videos, you can subscribe to my You Tube Channel.

Almond Butter Protein Bars

Almond Butter Protein Bars

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Prep Time 20 min Serves 10 bars     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In the food processor or Vitamix, grind the oats into a course consistency. 
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until a sticky dough is formed. 
  3. From here, you can roll them into balls or make them into bars like I did.  I used an 8 x 8 pan, but I think a slightly smaller pan would work better.  If you use a pan, line it with parchment leaving enough room to come out the sides.  That way they will be easy to pull out and cut. 
  4. I used a pizza cutter to cut mine. 
  5. Let them chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour.  That’s it.  I cut mine into squares and got about 10 in my batch.  Enjoy!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

Melissa King 46 Comments

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars.  I had a reader request a recipe the peanut butter chocolate larabar.  Since I love all things larabar, I wanted to make them asap.  They came out great!  I still love the Coconut Cream Larabar the best, but this one is pretty good too.

These healthy bars are no bake and super easy.  They freeze well too, so feel free to double the batch!

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

 

I am more of an almond butter girl myself, but my husband LOVES peanut butter so I know that these will be gobbled up fast.  I may try a second batch with almonds.  I love recipes like this because they are just so easy.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

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Prep Time 15 min

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In the food processor , blend the peanuts and salt into a powder.
  2. Pit the dates and add them in as well.
  3. If needed, slowly add a bit of water to help the mixture come together.
  4. Once the dough is formed, line and 8×8 glass baking dish with parchment paper leaving enough room for some paper to stick out the sides.
  5. Carefully, spoon the dough into the pan evenly. The dough will be very sticky and you may need to wet the spatula a bit.
  6. Using the extra paper, pack the dough down until it is flat and even.
  7. Place in the fridge to firm up.

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Recipe Notes

I store them in the fridge. They should keep at least a week if you can get them to last that long!