One of the
MAJOR discoveries clients and I have learned working together is how constipating Protein Bars are.
Yes they are easy to tuck in you backpack or purse or car when you are on the go. But it is not a good idea to find yourself living on them. Once in awhile is one thing but every day can be constipation for some.
To help out with the constipation problem they can cause, I have found 2 gluten free recopies for you to try that work very well.
ENJOY!!!
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For the past few months, I have been playing around with power bar recipes. When I'm on the go, I want to grab something that is packed with nutrition, not too sweet and plenty tasty.
I've made this power bar recipe a bunch of times now and my taste testers (that would be my husband who is a very direct and rather stringent critic) have given it their official seal of approval (that would be eating an entire tray in two days flat).
Gluten Free Almond Power Bars
2 cups almonds (raw)
½ cup flax meal (flax seeds ground in a Vitamix)
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup unsalted creamy roasted almond butter
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup coconut oil
4 drops stevia
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao (optional)
1.Place almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, almond butter and salt in a food processor
2.Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds
3.In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat
4.Remove coconut oil from stove, stir stevia, agave and vanilla into oil
5.Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste
6.Press mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish
7.Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens
8.In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously
9.Spread melted chocolate over bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes, until chocolate hardens
10.Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve
Makes 20 bars
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FROM ELANA'S PANTRY: http://www.elanaspantry.com/spicy-power-bars/
Gluten Free Bindi Bars
1 cup almonds (thanks Lawrence & Gail!)
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup dates
1 cup tart dried cherries
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1.Place nuts, dates and cherries in a food processor, pulse until well ground
2.Pulse in vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and salt
3.Remove mixture from food processor and press into an 8 by 8-inch baking dish
4.Refrigerate overnight (6-8 hours)
5.Cut into squares and serve
Note: You may want to try my other Power Bar recipe made with almonds!
Update: several readers have commented below that this recipe was not yielding enough to fill the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. I remade this again today and realized that I needed to double everything, so that it filled up the entire pan --when I was testing this recipe I was smooshing different batches of each version into half a pan. So, you will find that every ingredient has doubled (except for the vanilla). Sorry for the mixup! (This is what happens when you write recipes at 2am!)
