Though I make this treat for the boys all year round, in the summer there is nothing better than a big tray of home made energy bar for us all to snack on.  It’s cold, sweet and delicious and requires no oven time at all!  I feel good knowing that the boys are snacking on nutrient dense foods and they feel good about the chocolate chips.  Win-win!

I’ll provide the smaller scale recipe here but I like to double it as it takes the same amount of time to make but twice the time to eat!  This goes perfectly with a delicious smoothy or a plate of freshly chopped fruit with lemon and honey drizzled over it.

All the ingredients in this bar are packed full of nutrition.  The nuts and seeds and full of healthy fats and nutrients, the chia seeds are a wonderful source of omegas and the coconut oil is the perfect saturated fat.  The natural sweeteners give the taste of a treat without all the hazards of processed sugar, so blood sugar gets a boost without being accompanied by additives or spiking blood sugar.  This is a very sweet treat though, so only a small square (or two) at a time is needed.

Homemade Energy Bar

1 cup Raw Almonds (You can also use Cashews)

1/4 cup of Sunflower Seeds

1/4 cup of Pumpkin Seeds

1 tblespn of Chia Seeds (these are packed with omegas and super healthy)

1 cup of Medjool Dates without the pits

1-2 teaspoons of Vanilla Essence

1 tblespn on Coconut Oil

1 tblespn of Almond Butter

1 tblespn of Raw Honey (You could also use Agave or Maple Syrup)

1/2 cup Dark Chocolate drops

First add nuts and seeds to your food processor and grind until they are a meal (gravelly texture), add the dates one at a time (don’t forget to remove the pits!).  Then add the rest of your ingredients one at a time gauging the texture, if it is too dry add a bit more honey or another date to make it stick together. Add the  chocolate drops right and the end and mix as little as you can to avoid melting.  Then spread mixture into an 8 x 8 pan, at this point I cut the mix into squares before popping in the freezer to set.

This whole thing takes only 5 minutes to put together, perfect for a hot summer day or even a cool summer evening with a cup of peppermint tea watching the sun go down.  Right, I’m off to put the kettle on!