Hi everybody! Did I tell you I’m going on a trip? I’ll be away for two months in London, Mumbai, Ganeshpuri, Kathmandu, and Tibet, doing a medical service tour and Qigong study. When I travel I always bring uplifting treats from home. And these are my absolute favorite! A comforting snack with heavenly flavor and a superfood kick is an absolute necessity on a trip – or a hike. They’ll go in my backpack so they’re handy to grab. Airports are sorely lacking in nourishing food, so we have to be ingenious!
These bars are full of superfoods. Starting with chocolate, the food of the goods, one of the highest anti-oxidant foods on the planet. Pure 100% chocolate stimulates endorphins, pleasure chemicals in the brain. Other powerful superfoods are ginger, cinnamon, vitamin C, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, and goji berries. Maca and schizandra berries are potent uplifting adaptogens. The flavorings are all optional and flexible. However be careful to follow the basics of the recipe carefully. It’s best to work quickly and not allow the batter to get too hot in the processor. Sunflower lecithin helps emulsifiy oils and liquids together, to avoid separation during mixing.
Sadly, most snack bars are sugar-filled, and therefore toxic. So-called “dark chocolate” is legally required to contain at least 35% pure cacao. But wait! That means it could be as much as 65% sugar! And what good is a sweet sugar lift when your energy crashes soon after? We know that glycemic ups and downs are at the root of debilitating and painful diseases like arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.
However these healthy bars are utterly sugar free, sweetened with natural chicory root, which does not stimulate glycemic rush or fructose weight gain. Yay! Your chocolate can be any pure unsweetened baking chocolate. Hard baking chocolate contains wonderful cacao butter to keep the bars firm (unlike cacao powder, which has been de-fatted). I used TCHO Unsweetened 99% 8oz. Chocolate Critters Baking Bag from the Santa Fe Coop on Alameda. You can also buy it online, or use any unsweetened 100% baking chocolate. Store the bars for about 2 weeks in the fridge or a cool place. Or freeze for up to 3 months. They keep their shape best when chilled. Yield: A 9 x 13 pan, or about 100 bars depending on how you cut them. Enjoy!
My backpack will be filled with these superfood bars, so there’s always a comfort-food treat available!
Ingredients
- 2 cups crunchy nuts, soaked and dehydrated or lightly toasted (almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.) coarsely chopped (See All About Nuts)
- 1/2 cup hemp nuts
- 1/4 cup dried goji berries, optional. (If you're nightshade intolerant, better skip these)
- 1 5.4 oz small can of premium thick coconut milk (I used Native Forest brand)
- 2 cups Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener
- 2 tablespoons dried schizandra berries
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2-inches fresh ginger root, chopped (16 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure Vitamin-C crystals (pure Ascorbic Acid)
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/2 cup coconut butter (113 grams if you’re weighing it)
- 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 6 ounces 100% unsweetened pure baking chocolate, gently melted, warm but not hot.
- 1/2 cup your favorite protein powder. I used Bluebonnet 100% Natural Whey Protein Isolate Powder, Original Unsweetened
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Mt. Hagen organic decaffeinated coffee crystals
- 2 tablespoons maca powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup sunflower lecithin powder, as an emulsifier
Instructions
- Get out a 9 x 13-inch pan. Line it with parchment paper, so it comes up the side like handles. In a food processor, coarsely chop the nuts briefly. Place them in a large mixing bowl, add the hemp nuts and goji berries. Set aside to use in Step 4.
- In the food processor, add all the wet ingredients and mix well until completely liquefied.
- To the ingredients in the food processor, add all the dry ingredients and mix well. You may need to open the processor and move the batter so it mixes evenly. It will be dark and resemble the creature from the black lagoon. However do not fear! Just taste it! The flavor will be divine!
- Pour the mixture into the mixing bowl with the nuts. Mix well by hand until the nuts are evenly distributed. Place the batter into your pan and spread flat. Chill about 5 hours or overnight until very firm.
- Pull the bars out of the pan with the parchment paper handles, and place on a cool cutting board (I put the board in the freezer for 10 minutes). Cut into bars - approximately 1-inch squares. Enjoy immediately. Or put bars in small plastic bags and into your backpack!
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