Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Carob-Blueberry Energy Bars (Vegan, GF)

I've been meaning to make these bars ever since I bought Brendan Brazier's Thrive Diet. I love this book! I recommend it for vegans who are interested in fitness and any type of physical training. All of the recipes in his book are so wholesome and fit the "sketch-free" ideal perfectly.


The dates in these bars provide glucose which is easily expendable energy, meaning it will be available for use almost immediately. There is also protein, essential fats 3 and 6 (from flaxseed), I also added coconut oil to this recipe because I like my bars really firm and I always feel I need more fats in my diet.  I also added Goji Berries instead of the extra blueberries for iron and other essential nutrients. The sesame seeds provide more protein as well as copper (supports blood vessels and bone structure) and zinc, sesame seeds are also the most alkalizing seed you can eat. And did I mention that these are deliciously chocolatey? :)


Beautiful Goji Bars


1 cup soaked dates (medjool)
1/4 cup almonds (soaked and dehydrated)
1/4 cup sesame seeds (soaked and dehydrated)
1/4 cup hemp flour/hemp protein powder
1/4 cup ground flaxseeds (sprouted)
2 tbsp coconut oil (optional)
1/2 cup sprouted or cooked buckwheat (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup carob powder
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup goji berries (or more blueberries)


Process the almonds and sesame seeds in food processor until crumbly. Put dry ingredients in, process. Put dates, lemon juice, zest, coconut oil (optional), buckwheat (optional) and blueberries. Process until combined. Put onto a cutting board or flat surface. Add extra blueberries or goji berries and knead together to combine. Form dough into a flat rectangular shape. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Cut into bars. Makes 10-11 bars.


You can watch video of Brendan making these bars here.


-Jaclyn

11 comments:

  1. These look so cool! I love the red goji berries!

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  2. Thanks HayMarket8! We love love love goji berries too :)

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  3. SOunds super delicious and looks great too!

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  4. Wow! These look so nice, ladies! I did think those red things were chilis for a minute;-) Goji sounds a bit more palatable, though chili might be good to I guess (smile).

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  5. YUM! These bars look great, you girls know we love Brendan!

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  6. @ pure2raw We love Brendan! His book is so essential if you want to be a "muscular" vegan. For sure! :)

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  7. This recipie sounds great, althought I am a little confused. What does it mean when the almonds, and sesame say soaked and dehydrated?

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  8. Hey Kristin! When we say soaked and dehydrated we mean...soak the sesame seeds for 1-2 hours (almonds over night), drain and then dehydrate in a dehydrator or bake in a low temp oven (115 F) until dry. The reason why we do this is that it removes the toxins and sort of "germinates" the nut/seed. It's totally optional though! Feel free to skip this step!

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  9. thanks for informing me about Brendan Brazier. I think it's a great book even for non vegans as it contains SO much info on health in general. amazing. love it! love your blog as well. :)

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  10. 3 Studies REVEAL How Coconut Oil Kills Fat.

    The meaning of this is that you literally kill fat by consuming coconut fats (including coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut oil).

    These 3 studies from big medical journals are sure to turn the traditional nutrition world around!

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