For the past few months I have been playing around with paleo power bar recipes. When I’m on the go I want to grab something that is packed with nutrition, not too sweet, and plenty tasty.
I’ve made this grain-free power bar recipe a bunch of times now. My taste testers (that would be my husband who is a very direct and stringent critic) have given it their official seal of approval (that would be eating an entire tray in two days flat).
When I saw Heidi’s video I knew it was time to share my paleo power bars recipe. Heidi is my favorite food blogger and author of the delightful book, Super Natural Cooking. In Heidi’s video, her voice is so soothing and the content so tranquil that it might put you into a trance. It has gorgeous shots of California’s Big Sur interspersed with her recipe.
Power Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups almonds
- ½ cup golden flaxmeal
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup creamy roasted almond butter
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 4 drops stevia
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Place almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, almond butter, and salt in a food processor
- Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds
- Add coconut oil, stevia, honey, and vanilla to dry ingredients
- Pulse until mixture forms a coarse paste
- Press mixture into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish
- Chill in refrigerator 1 hour, until firm
- In a saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously
- Spread melted chocolate over bars
- Refrigerate 30 minutes, until chocolate solidifies
- Serve
- Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week
My no-bake, high-protein, high-fiber bars are based upon Melissa Diane Smith’s recipe for Amaretto Protein Bars. I’ve made quite a few changes to her recipe, simplifying it a bit and lowering the amount of sweetener.
The chocolate topping on these paleo power bars makes them seem a bit decadent. Though dark chocolate, rich in antioxidants, has now entered the echelon of power foods so I’ll keep it on mine.
By the way, the photo above is actually of Macadamia Power Bars. To make that recipe simply substitute raw macadamia nuts for the almonds and raw macadamia nut butter
Natalie Madej says
I was wondering what the nutritional breakdown of the bar would be?
elana says
Amanda -Thanks for the report and glad that they still worked without the chocolate which is just an addition to make them super decadent, though not necessary.
Jennifer -I know, isn’t stevia a challenging ingredient to work with? For some reason it’s subtle in this recipe and turns out ok. I like that you added chocolate truffle to the power bars –yum indeed and a great idea; thanks!
Glenda says
Have you used xylitol instead of stevia. I am using that instead of sugar. it looks like sugar and you can use it straight across in measurements and i love it. does not have that bitter taste that stevia has and has so many healing properties in it.
Jennifer says
Elana, I am so enjoying your site, and have tried several of your wonderful recipes. I love these power bars. The last batch I made with 2 extra drops of stevia, and without the chocolate topping. I added about 1/3 cup of chopped homemade chocolate truffle to the mix once it had cooled, and before pressing it into a pan. Very yummers! Thanks so much for your effort at coming up with these great recipes! I like that this uses stevia and not much agave. I find stevia a challenge to use with sweets, without it tasting bitter, but it works really well in this.
Amanda says
Elana, I loved these bars! Unfortunately, I didn’t have chocolate at the time so I made them without. They are still yummy! They are the perfect snack. Thank you!
elana says
Jane-
What a great idea to make the bars crunchy! I bet they taste fantastic that way. Thanks for your comment about the look of my site, it’s much appreciated.
Elana
Jane says
Hi Elana,
I LOVE these bars…what diet? ;-)
I like them even better with a bit of crunch. I find that I don’t need to refrigerate before putting on the chocolate, I just press a thin layer of brown rice crisps into the mixture in the tray, then smooth on the chocolate. The chocolate keeps the crisps crunchy. I tried adding the crisps to the ‘body’ of the mixture but they tend to get soggy that way.
btw…I’m a web designer and I think your site looks fabulous.
elana says
Hi Beth,
Thanks for stopping by. Let me know how you like some of these recipes as you make them. I would love to hear from you.
Elana
Beth Holdridge says
Hi! I found you through a comment by “~M” on Gluten Free Mommy. These look amazing and I will definitely be trying them soon- I so much prefer making my own things instead of prepackaged, and I’m excited for these. :) I’m also going to have to keep an eye on this blog, your recipes look amazing!
<3 Beth
Elana says
Oops, sorry about that! So, to answer your question, I use raw foods as much as possible because they have more live enzymes. However, for me, I like the taste of roasted almond butter A LOT more than raw almond butter. The nuttiness really comes out in the roasted. There’s your answer :-)
~M says
I am referring to this recipe, where you recommend 2 cups almonds (raw) and then almond butter (roasted tastes better).
I just finished the bars last night and can’t wait to make more!