Healthy Homemade Nut Bars

Homemade Healthy Nut Bars

I love grabbing a trio bar for a smart snack but with my husband, daughter and I all grabbing them it can get to be a crunch on the food bill. So I decided to look around for something I could make at home. There are tons of recipes online to be found and played with.
I found this recipe originally on the Reboot website and then I adapted it for our own personal preferences on taste and what we have on hand in the pantry. Here is what I did.......

1/3 cup raw sliced almonds
1/3 cup raw sesame seeds
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup dried fruit (blueberries, pineapple, apple, apricots, cranberries....it is all good!)
1/3 cup organic honey
1 TBSP almond butter
2 TBSP rice flour
1 cup of coconut flakes
pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1.)    Preheat oven to 150C (300F).

2.)    Chop nuts, seeds and dried fruit and measure once chopped.

3.)    Mix together honey, almond butter, rice flour, coconut flakes and salt until well combined.

4.)    Add in chopped fruit, nuts and seeds and combine well. I used my hands to ensure it was mixed evenly.

5.)    Press firmly into a lined 8×8 inch dish with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes then allow to cool. * I seems to always end up baking it an extra 10 minutes for a more golden brown. If I double the batch then I bake for at least 40 minutes.

6.)    Place slice into a freezer for 1 hour or more to harden the bars up (optional).

7.)    Once hard cut into bars or slice pieces with a sharp knife. These can be stored in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.  * I take the time after cutting to wrap each serving in a bit of saran wrap before storing so that it is truly a grab and go smart snack. 

Substitutions:
Mix nuts – any type of nut desired (or any seeds for a nut free version)Pumpkin seeds – sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
Dates – dried figs, raisins, sultanas
Honey -  maple syrup, rice malt
Almond butter – macadamia butter, brazil nut butter, cashew nut butter
Rice Flour - coconut flour

Enjoy and celebrate God's goodness!