My fellow gym rats were delighted when I brought these Paleo friendly, high protein, gluten free snacks to the gym last week. The consensus? These gluten free power bars hit the spot.
Made with healthy, high protein almond flour and nutritious goji berries, the gang wolfed these down, then asked for more. I promised them I would post this recipe for gluten free power bars and so here it is.
First though, a bit about goji berries. Goji berries (also known as wolfberries) are a superfood, slowly gaining attention and popularity in this country.
Research shows that berries are superfoods and that eating berries such as goji berries, blueberries, cranberries, and strawberries can be beneficial for your health. Berries contain powerful antioxidants and other compounds that can boost the immune system and lower cholesterol; further, it is thought that the nutrient properties in berries can prevent cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.
Goji berries in particular have compounds rich in vitamin A, beta-carotene and B vitamins. These compounds are thought to have anti-aging benefits and boost immune function. Incidentally, goji berries have been used for centuries in Traditonal Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Dried goji berries tend to be a bit…dry. So I like to plump mine up before I use them by placing them in a bowl and pouring a bit of boiling water over them. This brings out their juicy goodness, makes them easier to digest and simply prevents them from being too hard.
Free exclusive eBook, plus recipes and health tips, delivered to your inbox.
When you plump your gojis, let them sit in the hot water for 10-15 minutes until the water is mostly absorbed, then discard any remaining water (there won’t be a lot).
Goji Power Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons golden flaxmeal
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon stevia
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup goji berries, soaked in ¼ cup boiling water to plump
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, flax meal, salt and baking soda
- Blend in coconut sugar, stevia and eggs with a hand blender
- Mix in gojis and chocolate chips with a large spoon
- Spread mixture into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish, it will be about an inch thick
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes
- Cut into squares and serve
Here are some more Paleo friendly bars that you may also like:
–Spicy Power Bars
–Cherry Vanilla Power Bars
–Apricot Power Bars
Heather says
I’ve made your orange cake a couple of times, and find it is always very very moist. I’d like to reduce the moisture, so I was wondering: does most of the moisture come from boiling the oranges? If so, is boiling the oranges really necessary? Could I only boil 1 of the oranges?
Any guidance would be appreciated.
Heather
Ottawa, Canada
Gloria Ferri says
Yum…..ever look good! Thanks for sharing!
Megan Elberty says
Always looking for a good snack recipe that is low on the glycemic index. May I could try this without the stevia. Thanks.
Alicia says
stevia is low glycemic… it is naturally this way. stevia comes from an herb you could plant in your garden
jo says
Hi Elana,
Unfortunately I am egg intolerant. Do you think I can make this recipe without egg?
Thanks so much,
Jo
Rennie says
Great recipe, used dried blueberries instead of goji berries and left out the 1/4 tsp stevia. My family couldn’t stop eating them, they didn’t last long!
bakeries Knoxville TN says
What a wonderful and creative recipe using Goji Berries! I admire individuals like you advocating healthy options in their diet and best of all sharing them to the world. In our sweet world of baked goodies and all things sweet, nothing beats satisfying cravings with a healthy power bar or two!
April G says
These bars disappeared in a day, and started a 4 hr baking spree where I made about 4 “Elana” recipes in a row! My chiropractor keeps asking me to bring him samples of all this healthy cooking I’ve been doing, but I can’t seem to make them last long enough to share. :)
Riki Shore says
These power bars look awesome – I can’t wait to try them! Berries are powerful anti-oxidants and boast so many nutritional benefits that including them in our diets just makes sense. For those wanting to follow an anti-inflammatory diet, you may want to sub dried blueberries. Goji berries are a nightshade (along with tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers) – a group of plants known to increase inflammation in the body. I know these will be just as tasty with blueberries. I’m planning to make them this weekend. Thank you!
Rob @ How to Cook Hero says
You know, I have no real need to follow gluten free recipes, but when you have something that looks this delicious laid out, there’s really no reason to make any sort of modifications.
@catherine, the substitution for dark chocolate is probably the one I will try out.
I’m going to have to subscribe to check out for more of this. Once again, great post!
catherine says
Can’t stop eating these. I find it interesting how the mix of flaxmeal, coconut and almond flour ends up somewhat mimicking the texture of whole wheat flour. Also, for the choco chips, I used a dark chocolate bar with chocolate nibs in it, and the crunch is amazing!
ps. Your clean and well organized website is a real inspiration for me. I believe your role in steering people towards better nutrition might be even greater than you think. All of the recipes I’ve ever done from either your website or your cookbook have all worked out perfectly. You’re really doing an amazing job.