One of the challenges of eating clean is finding snacks on the run. In a perfect world, I would prepare food on the weekends or spend a few hours a day to cook fresh meals. But, I live in the real world. Regardless of how busy I am (or not), I don’t enjoy hours working in the kitchen for dinners let alone snacks. When I’m in a bind, I can find a Larabar in the grocery or gas station convenient stores. These bars are raw and have few ingredients. The only problem for me is that they are made of nuts. So, if I’m with my son, who has a severe nut allergy, these are a no-no. So, I challenged myself to figure out how to make my own nut-free version.
My criteria for a good recipe is that it needs to be simple with very few steps and clean ingredients. I often check a few food blogs and then mix and match ingredients. Below is my latest concoction. If you like the Larabar (and coconut*), this recipe is amazing. It’s super-sweet, so I felt like I was eating dessert, just without the guilt.
- 7 medjool dates
- ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ¾ cup shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1½ tablespoons coconut oil melted
- Blend the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and coconut in a Vitamix (or food processor) until fine
- Add in dates, oil and water and pulse until it is doughy
- Line a pan with parchment paper
- Press down on the dough so that it is packed well.
- Place in refrigerator to set - at least two hours.
- Slice and eat.
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Some snack bin favorites
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