Tag Archives: flax seeds

Dark Chocolate Covered Seed and Nut Bars

Finished bars all ready to eat.

Finished bars all ready to eat.

It has suddenly gotten amazingly hot and sunny here in the Pacific Northwest.  I LOVE IT!  I am a total sun girl- everything seems better with a little  sun!  The only bummer is our house gets incredibly hot as the day goes on.  As the mercury rises, trying to avoid further heating of  the house with cooking becomes a consuming obsession.  Imagine my joy when I came upon these amazing raw seed and nut bars from This Rawsome Vegan Life while surfing Pintrest (you can find me here on Pintrest).

All the yummies that make up these awesome bars.

All the yummies that make up these awesome bars.

 

These bars have everything you could possibly need for a little pick me up in a busy day.  Healthy sugar from organic dates and raisins, omega-3’s from chia seeds, walnuts and flax seeds and protein from all those seeds and nuts.   Pumpkin seeds further contribute to the omega-3’s but they also give a much need boost of zinc (read here about the benefits of zinc.).The medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in the coconut oil provide a blast of increase energy expenditure compared to the same amount of calories from longer chain fats.  And, of course, I couldn’t resist adding a dark chocolate covered topping to increase my antioxidant exposure.  (Read more about the benefits of dark chocolate here.

Dark chocolate squares melting in double broiler.

Dark chocolate squares melting in double broiler.

I put the dark chocolate squares on the stove in a makeshift double broiler while I started the grinding of the seeds and nuts in the food processor.  After the nuts and seeds resembled a course crumb, I gradually added the raisins and dates.  Mixing this all together required some time, with multiple stops to scrape down the sides of the food processor.  I used roughly 2 tbs of coconut oil but you will have to judge the stickiness of your own dough.  The moisture content of the dates and raisins seems to impact how sticky the dough becomes.

All the ingredients before being ground.

All the ingredients before being ground.

 

Melting chocolate for the topping.

Melting chocolate for the topping.

Bars with melted chocolate ready to go to the fridge to harden.

Bars with melted chocolate ready to go to the fridge to harden.

Finished bars.

Finished bars.

These were super easy to whip up and so tasty!  I think they might be my new favorite bar!

Dark Chocolate Covered Seed and Nut Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/3 cup chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1/3 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/4 cup cacao nibs
  • 1/4 cup coconut flakes
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 cup dates
  • 1-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, if needed
  • 4 Dark chocolate squares for topping.

Instructions

  1. Melt dark chocolate over double broiler on the stove.
  2. Put all ingredients except raisins, coconut oil and dates in food processor.
  3. Process until you have a course crumb mixture.
  4. Add raisins and dates.
  5. Process until dough starts sticking together.
  6. Add coconut oil as needed to help with sticking.
  7. Put dough in parchment lined pan.
  8. Use your hands to press to uniform depth throughout the pan.
  9. Pour melted chocolate over top of bars.
  10. Spread chocolate.
  11. Put bars in fridge for about an hour.
  12. Once firm and chocolate hardens, take out and cut.
  13. Store in fridge.
  14. Enjoy!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-covered-seed-and-nut-bars/

Share a link to your favorite bar recipe!

This post was shared with Gluten Free Homemaker, A glimpse Inside, Homespun Oasis, The Nourishing Gourmet, Rock My Vegan Socks, Food Renegade,  Today’s Creative Blog  and Live Laugh Rowe..

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Spring Flowers

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Spring Flowers.

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Spring Flowers.

All this talk about the benefits of dark chocolate from Tuesday’s post got me thinking about a way to add a little more chocolate to my daily routine. Lately, I have been snacking on pumpkin seed butter spread on dark chocolate scraps leftover from my debacle of trying to make almond  butter flowers.  (Read about it here.)  I have been obsessed with this tasty treat.  I also recently found a really cute flower ice cube tray mold at Ikea and was excited to put it to use. I had seen many recipes for homemade peanut butter cups on the internet  but I thought if  I incorporated pumpkin and flax seeds into my chocolate, it could add a boost of omega 3’s.

Cute mold filled with chocolate.

Cute mold filled with chocolate.

I had a little extra chocolate so I also used a mini muffin tin to make some traditionally shaped pumpkin seed butter cups.  This works great and obviously tastes just as yummy if you don’t have a fancy mold.

Muffin tin with chocolate.

Muffin tin with chocolate.

 

After I filled the mold, I put it in the freezer to allow the chocolate to set up.  Once the chocolate was hard, I added my pumpkin seed butter to the mold and then poured another layer of chocolate over the nut butter.  Be sure to cover all of the pumpkin seed butter.

Hardened chocolate with pumpkin butter.

Hardened chocolate with pumpkin butter.

My pumpkin butter did not hold together too well but I figured it would be okay because the melted chocolate would be able to hold it in place.  I thought about adding more coconut oil or blending it longer but felt it would work fine once the extra chocolate layer was added.  And look,  I was right!!

finished pumpkin butter dark chocolate flowers.

finished pumpkin butter dark chocolate flowers.

Traditional butter cups.

Traditional butter cups.

OH!  THESE ARE SO YUMMY!

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Spring Flowers

Ingredients

  • 2 dark chocolate bars
  • 1/8 cup of ground flax seed
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 2 1/2 tbs of coconut oil (more as needed)
  • 2 tbs of honey

Instructions

  1. Place chocolate in a double broiler on the stove.
  2. Add one tbs of coconut oil and allow to melt.
  3. Stir frequently.
  4. While melting, grind pumpkin seeds,flax meal, honey and remaining coconut oil in food processor.
  5. When chocolate melted, put thin layer in bottom of mold.
  6. Place in freezer for about 10 minutes or until hard.
  7. Take out of freezer and place small amount of pumpkin seed butter in the mold.
  8. Pour another layer of chocolate around the pumpkin seed butter. It should completely cover the butter.
  9. Put back in the freezer until hard. (This could take over an hour.)
  10. Pop the flowers out of the mold.
  11. Enjoy!!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-pumpkin-seed-butter-spring-flowers/

More finished flowers.

More finished flowers.

These dark chocolate nut butter cups could be made with any nut butter you desire.  In my opinion any nut combined with dark chocolate is a yummy combination!

What is your favorite nut butter- dark chocolate pairing?

This post was shared with Food Renegade,  Gluten Free Cat, Homespun Oasis, The Idea Room,  Rock My Vegan Socks, Today’s Creative BlogUrban Naturale,  Live, Laugh Rowe  and  A Glimpse Inside.

Pistachio Nut Butter Stuffed Dates

Nut butter stuffed Dates

Nut butter stuffed Dates

I am always searching for the quick snack that is the perfect blend of salty and sweet-ready on a whim and easy to grab and go.  These pistachio nut butter stuffed dates meet those requirements.  They  are so easy to make and can be adjusted to include any nut butter you have on hand.  Don’t like pistachios?  Make yourself a walnut butter for a blast of healthy omega-3’s.  Have a jar of almond butter that has been hanging around for awhile?  Grab it, stuff it in some dates and chow down.

I find these dates a perfect snack for pre and post workout.  The nut butter provides a hit of protein for muscle recovery, while the dates give a blast of sugar to help fuel your workout.  ( Even though dates have sugar, they are considered a low GI food because they provide both some protein and fiber to slow the absorption of the sugar.  They are also a good source of  Vitamin B6 and the minerals Potassium, Copper and  Manganese.)

I happened to have pistachios on hand so I decided to make a pistachio nut butter.  However, any nut will do.  I also decided to add some ground flax seed to add some healthy omega- 3s.

Flax seeds ready for grinding.

Flax seeds ready for grinding.

I pre-ground the flax seed in a coffee grinder because I find my food processor has a difficult time grinding them finely. dates

Pistachio Nut Butter Stuffed Dates

Ingredients

  • Pitted dates
  • 1 cup of pistachios
  • 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds
  • 3 tsp cacao powder
  • 1/4 tsp of salt (taste your butter and adjust based on your taste)
  • 1 1/2 tbs of melted coconut oil (more if needed)
  • coconut for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. Grind your flax seeds.
  2. Slice dates down the middle but not all the way through. You want them to open up but not break in two pieces.
  3. Put pistachios, cacao and salt in food processor.
  4. Begin to grind nuts.
  5. Stop to scrape down sides as needed.
  6. Add oil and flax seeds.
  7. Grind some more.
  8. Nuts will gradually break down and form a crumb texture. Continue grinding until crumbs begin to stick together and a nut butter forms. This may take a few minutes.
  9. Carefully spread nut butter in the inside of the dates.
  10. Sprinkle with coconut.
  11. Enjoy!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/pistachio-nut-butter-stuffed-dates/

What nut butter would you like to try?

Shared with Food Renegade, Today’s Creative Blog, Six Sisters Stuff, A Southern Fairy Tale  and The Idea Room.

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