We had another glorious weekend filled with sunshine, family and amazing food!
On Friday night Allan and I went on a date to Doolittle’s Woodfire Grill where we dined alfresco on amazing food including a cosmo for her and a mojito for him (my first vodka since having Matthew). We shared the mediterranean flatbread, mediterranean salad and a beef tenderloin with red potatoes and veggies sans butter. The food was amazing, but for some reason the kitchen was unable to produce a medium steak. After two very time consuming tries, we simply ate the medium well steak that we were served.
After being dinning for almost 2 hours, we missed the 8:35 PM showing of Transformers 3 and had to kill some time driving around neighborhoods we would like to live in and buying snacks at Target. By the time the 10:15 PM movie rolled around I was exhausted, but willing to stick it out to see Transformers 3 in 3D. The special effects and 3D animation were amazing, but oh.my.goodness the movie was way too looooooong. We didn’t leave the theatre until 1 AM!!! I was one tired mama, although I may have snuck in a couple cat naps during the long action sequence near the end. 😉
Saturday was relaxing and included time spent catching up on things around the house. For supper we tried the Cheeseburger Pizza and Strawberry Shortcake from the latest issue of Clean Eating Magazine and really liked both recipes. We didn’t have strawberries, so I subbed in peaches and raspberries, which was divine! If you haven’t already, I would suggest picking up a copy of the latest issue, this one is definitely a keeper.
Yesterday was a lot of food prep. Including a recipe that is going to change your life. Literally.
Mama Pea posted a recipe for a homemade Kind bar and they looked so delicious that I wanted to lick my MacBook monitor. But, I restrained myself and decided that I would simply recreate her recipe this weekend. Speaking of Mama Pea, have you order her book
However, after further consideration, I realized that Mama Pea’s recipe didn’t exactly fit into my clean eating diet as nicely as I would like, what it lacked in protein and carbs, it made up for in fat and sugar. So I decided to make a couple changes to up the protein and lower the fat.
After making this recipe yesterday I have a couple ideas on lowering the sugar and fat even further. That experiment will have to wait for another day. In the meantime, this is a delightful bar that your family is sure to love. The recipe below will make either one 9×13 pan or two 9×9 pans. If you don’t want this many bars around your house, because, like me, you have no self-control when it comes to healthy candy bars, feel free to cut the recipe in half and simply make one 9×9 pan. Or you could share, like I did. The two 9×9 pans that I made were divided between my friend, Laurel and her boys, Allan and his Target peeps and the family pool party that we attended yesterday afternoon. I imagine that they would also freeze very well.
Clean eaters or not, everyone will go crazy for these bars.
The best part about this recipe is that it is super flexible. Feel free to use any combination of dried fruit and nuts that you have on hand.
Clean Candy Bars
A delicious, healthy candy bar that is sure to please even the pickiest eater. Feel free to change up the recipe based on what you have on hand.
Makes 18 bars
6 tbsp ground flaxseed
2 scoops protein powder
1 c syrupy sweetener (I used raw honey, but can use maple syrup, brown rice or agave instead)
3 cups mixed nuts (I used a combo of almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, macademia buts and peanuts)
1 cup puffed cereal (I used millet, but can use amaranth, brown rice, etc.)
1 c dried fruit (I used mulberries and raisins, but can use unsweetened cherries, unsweetened cranberries, dates, prunes, goldenberries, etc.)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c dark chocolate chips, optional
1 tbsp coconut oil, optional
Preheat oven to 350° and line a 9×13 pan or two 9×9 pans with parchment paper.
In a glass measuring cup combine flax, protein powder and syrup. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine nuts, cereal, dried fruit, sea salt and cinnamon. Pour syrup mixture over nut mixture and stir until coated throughly.
Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes until the edges begin to lightly brown. Set aside to cool. The bars will be gooey, but will solidify as they cool.
If desired, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave or over a double boiler.
Once bars have cooled, drizzle with melted chocolate. Let the bars and topping cool completely, placing in the freezer to speed up the process. Once completely set, remove bars from pan using parchment paper. Place on a cutting board and slice into 18 bars. Share and enjoy!
Please note that while these bars are clean, they are also nutrient dense and if you are trying to loose weight, you should only consume one as a splurge, not as a regular meal replacement. I am working on a version of this recipe that could be used as a meal replacement and will post it once I have perfected it. 🙂
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