Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Bars

IMG_1143In my never ending quest for new snack options for my boys, I have tried some strange combinations.  It can be so hard to find something they like that is not loaded with sugar or additives.  Making my own snacks can be a good option but I don’t always have the time for complicated recipes.  I was so happy when I saw this recipe for Quinoa Bars from My Whole Foods Life .  It was easy and had very few but yummy ingredients.  I love quinoa- every cup has 8 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber and is a good source of manganese, magnesium, folate, phosphorous and B vitamins.  It is a gluten free seed with some serious nutrition!  I had never tried quinoa flakes before so was curious to see what they were like.  I bought Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes.  They were so nutty and yummy that I used them again this am in some chia seed pudding.  I could see a lot of uses for them!

I wanted to make a few tweaks to the recipe but pretty much left it as it was designed.  I decided to add some chocolate chips to these bars to entice my boys to eat them.  I really like Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips because they taste like regular chocolate chips but are gluten, soy and dairy free- so yummy!  Finally, I had a weird assortment of nut butters that I cobbled together because I didn’t have much of any particular type.  I used  Mara Natha All Natural Roasted Almond Butter, Maranatha Cashew Butter and a tiny bit of a local pumpkin seed butter.

The recipe from My Whole Foods Life was for raw bars but I wanted to try to bake them to see if I could get them to hold together better.  (I often find my raw bars tend to be crumbly.)  I wasn’t sure if it would help but decided to give it a shot.

IMG_1142

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Bars

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups quinoa flakes
  • 1 heaping cup almond butter (I used a combination of almond, cashew and pumpkin)
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup (you could substitute honey)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup of chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place quinoa flakes in bowl with cinnamon, and salt.
  3. Heat nut butters, syrup, coconut oil and vanilla over low fire until well combined.
  4. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
  5. Add chocolate chips. They will melt if you don't allow the dough to cool. I like them melted so didn't cool the dough.
  6. Spread dough in 8X8 parchment lined pan.
  7. Press down firmly to compress the dough.
  8. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven.
  9. Allow to cool and then enjoy.
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/chocolate-chip-quinoa-snack-bars/

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