A Healthy Snack for the New Year ... Hello 2017

Day 10 January 2017

It's hard to believe that it is a new year already.  If you are like me you might have indulged a bit too much over the holidays and gained a bit of extra bulge. I hope that you kept on walking30 in December because that always helps keep things under control. 
What I find most frustrating is that once I climb on the sugar train at holiday get togethers I find it almost impossible to stop the cravings for more sugar. You know the drill ... all of a sudden your best intentions are down the drain and you start looking toward the new year for a new plan. 
As a partial fix for the holiday dilemma I put together this recipe a few years ago and I make up a batch every month or so and store them in the fridge for a quick nutritious snack with just a touch of sugar from the chocolate and bit of dried fruit. 
If you have any suggestions or comments please share them.

        Sue’s Healthy Chocolate, Seed, Nut Bars

 In bowl mix together:
2 cups ground almond meal
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flour
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
1/2 cup organic cranberries
4 tbs organic cacao powder (or baking cocoa)
optional:
Handful of coarsely chopped walnuts
Handful of coarsely chopped almonds
2 tbs peanut butter powder
Substitute raisins for cranberries or other dried fruit

Melt in a sauce pan on a very low heat or in a double boiler:

150 grams of 70% dark chocolate (1/2 a large Presidents Choice bar)
3/4 cup coconut oil
When this mixture is liquid ... add to the dry ingredients and ...
Mix well  
Prepare a 33 X 23X 5 cm pan with foil lining (buttered)
or plastic wrap (make sure that you have extra wrap on both ends so that you can remove the bars easily when cooled).

Pour the mixture into the pan and pack it down evenly and firmly.
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips can be scattered evenly over the top.
Next ...
 






Melt together:
75 grams of 70% dark chocolate (1/4 of a large PC bar)
1/3 cup coconut oil
Then spoon over the mixture in the pan evenly covering the chocolate chips.

Pop the pan in the freezer for an hour and then into the fridge until you are ready to cut into pieces. The bar should come out of the pan easily ... pull at the plastic wrap on the ends to release or flip it over on a cutting board if it has a foil lining. 

Remove plastic or foil ... cut into approximately 70 or 80 pieces.  There is usually a little bit of crumble left when you are cutting them up. If they are too crumbly you should be sure to add more coconut oil and/or chocolate to your next batch and be sure to pack it well into the pan before cooling.

These bars store well in the fridge for up to a month or so.
A serving would be one or two :)

Although it is very hard to eat just one or two! Good Luck!

That's it! ... I haven't done the math around calories ... but if you use good healthy ingredients and at least 70% dark chocolate along with portion control ... this can make a good bar to have before a workout or when the sugar bug bites you.
Walk On Strong!
Sue