Winter felt really long this year. Last week when I boarded a plane to fly south for a bit, I was ready in more ways than one. Not only did I crave some sunshine, but also needed a little reset in a few areas of my life that I can only achieve by spending time on my own for a bit. Have you ever felt that way? I am very fortunate to be able to get away and apologize if my Kitchen Scouting is a bit intermittent in the process.
Speaking of the blog, I do my best to offer you a reasonably broad range of recipes that you can make at home. Some are healthy, some a little less so. I don’t subscribe to one specific lifestyle and my blog reflects that for sure. Sometimes, I wish I did.
Sometimes, I wish I was that woman who got up in the morning and thought about what green vegetables she was going to put in her Vitamix with her protein powder, collagen peptides and coconut water and whatever else goes into a smoothie in the morning. But guess what? I don’t! I don’t even own a Vitamix!
I reach for the caffeine in the morning and if I am lucky enough to remember, I may throw a scoop of collagen peptides into it. I also wish I pre-gamed my coffee with warm lemon water every morning, a good flush for toxins and a way to rehydrate the body after a long night’s sleep. I do that – but only every third day or so which I suppose is better than nothing.
I could go on and on, but pointing out all of the things I am failing at is not only depressing, but also really boring. Let’s just say I am in awe of people who follow an incredibly structured routine with their lifestyle. Honestly, sometimes I wish I could be that disciplined. My mother used to say her approach was everything in moderation. Maybe that’s me too?
I do follow two women who, in my mind, are leading aspirational lifestyles. Or at least they are on Instagram ha ha. Los Angeles based Pamela Salzman was the inspiration for my Wild Cod Burgers.
I enjoy many of Pamela’s tips about healthy eating options, supplements and even some restaurant recommendations! Through Pamela, I learned about another LA based woman named Elissa Goodman whose story is worth a read as well. Elissa is a certified holistic nutritionist and believes strongly in the food as medicine mantra.
Elissa has a “S.O.U.P. cleanse” program that actually sounds really interesting but you have to live in LA to do it. SOUP stands for soup, salads super foods, organic, uniquely designed, prepared with love. It’s a five day program that provides you with all the foods you need to reset including soups, salads, teas and the bars that I am sharing today. Pamela was doing the cleanse and shared on her Instagram stories how good the bars were so that is how today’s recipe came to be shared with all of you! Thankfully Elissa had a recipe for them on her website!
Now, I don’t know how you feel about bars but personally I was conflicted until now. I don’t usually buy bars because they often have up to 200 calories and that just seems like a big allowance for a small bar that may or may not contain healthy ingredients. And yet, I often find myself in the middle of an activity (golf particularly) craving a little bite of something to keep me going. This is when I wish I had something in my bag, only to realize I never do. This summer will be different!
Super Seed Bars are made with a combination of gluten free rolled oats (easier on digestion), organic brown rice cereal, all kinds of healthy seeds, almond butter and Goji berries which are high in antioxidents. These no-bake bars are bound together and sweetened with something called Coconut Nectar. It’s made by the same company that produces Coconut Aminos, a popular substitute for soy. I couldn’t find Coconut Nectar the first time I tried the recipe and used this product that I found at Whole Foods instead. It was a touch sweet for me, but still met the standards of my discerning college girl who enjoys bars.
Ultimately, I found the Coconut Nectar at my local health food store and have now seen it at certain Whole Foods. It is a replacement for processed sugar and is low glycemic as was the apple product I used as a substitute. It comes from the sap of coconut blossoms and contains 17 amino acids, vitamin C and B and is rich in magnesium, potassium and iron. I’ll take it, especially because I try to stay away from too much processed sugar if I can. In fact, I decided to cut back on one other ingredient in the bars, vanilla extract to make sure my end product was not too sweet which is my preference.
These bars are very easy to whip up and they set up in the freezer so no baking is involved. They keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer. Elissa’s recipe originally called for making the bars in a 9-inch pan and cutting them into 12 pieces, yielding about a 200 calorie, thinish bar. I decided to make them in an 8-inch pan to give them a little more thickness, and to cut them into 16 pieces so each bar is roughly 150 calories and just enough to take the edge off my hunger and hopefully yours too.
I brought these on the first leg of my trip to share with friends and they got a big thumb’s up (although caution – seeds may get between your teeth).
This recipe has made a bar lover out of me, that’s for sure. I will be making these on repeat all summer, perhaps swapping out those Goji berries from time to time with some Cocoa Nibs or another diced organic dried fruit like apricots. Or maybe even some dark chocolate just for fun.
What do you think? Will you make Super Seed Bars with Goji Berry? I hope so! Thank you to Elissa Goodman for the recipe.
PS – I made this Creamy Celery and Cauliflower Soup from Elissa’s website and have been really enjoying it as part of my reset. I found I needed to add a little more liquid to the pot to cook the vegetables and left the garlic cloves whole to prevent burning. I also skipped the coconut milk and thinned out the soup with a little water.
Until next time…
One Year Ago: In Conversation with Karen Collins, founder of Bisousweet Confections
Two Years Ago: Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Three Years Ago: Review of Osteria Posto in Waltham, Massachusetts
Four Years Ago: Carrot Cake Cupcakes
This recipe is adapted every so slightly from Elissa Goodman. Super Seed Bars with Goji Berry make a healthy snack any time of day. Keep them in the refrigerator so they stay as firm as possible until ready to eat. You can also freeze them for up to a month. They defrost very quickly. Enjoy.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free (optional) rolled oats
- 1 1/4 cups organic brown rice crisp cereal (I used Erewhorn brand)
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 Tablespoons chia seeds
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 1/2 cup Coconut Secret Coconut Nectar
- 1/3 cup organic, smooth almond butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup goji berries (see note)
Instructions
- Spray an 8-inch square pan lightly with cooking spray. Line the pan in both directions with parchment and spray again lightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, brown rice cereal, all the seeds, shredded coconut, cinnamon and salt. Mix until well combined and all ingredients are evenly distributed.
- In a small saucepan, add the coconut nectar and the almond butter. Warm the ingredients over medium-high heat until just bubbling. Take off the heat and whisk until smooth. Add the vanilla and whisk again.
- Pour all of the nut butter mixture over the oat mix, using a rubber spatula to get every last drop out of the pan. With a large metal spoon, stir until all of the oats, cereal and seeds are completely coated with the wet ingredients. The mixture will begin to get stiff. While still warm, fold in the goji berries.
- Transfer the mixture to the pan lined with parchment paper. Spread the mixture into an even layer in the pan and press down as hard as you can to insure that there are not any air holes in the mixture. To do this, I like to take a piece of wax paper (or parchment) and lay it directly on the oat mixture. Then I take my hands and press as firmly as possible until the oats are very compressed. I keep moving the paper and repeating the process until the entire surface area is even. Time spent doing this will help the bars hold together.
- Place the pan in the freezer, covered if you are going to leave it for awhile. I suggest at least 3 hours so they are really frozen and therefore much easier to cut. Lift the square out of the pan using the parchment paper for handles and place it on a cutting board. Cut into 16 even squares. Wrap the bars individually or keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks. You can store extra in the freezer for up to one month.
Tips from The Kitchen Scout
There are so many things to swap out for the Goji Berries if you want to mix things up although the nutritional value may change. Cocoa nibs, chopped dark chocolate, chopped dried organic apricots, dried cranberries would all be terrific options.
Val , my bars are in the freezer . I’ll let you know how they turn out . I went to debra’s and they did not have coconut nectar but Debra said try maple syrup as a substitute . So I’ll let you know how that works !
Let me know, Pam. They will definitely be sweeter with the maple syrup and it isn’t as viscous as coconut syrup so not sure they will hold together as well. Curious!
Thanks Val. I love a good bar and will definitely give these a try. Here is another bar recipe you may like. https://cookieandkate.com/2016/almond-coconut-granola-bars/ They may not be low calorie, but very satisfying!
Yummy! Thanks, Sheila!