I’ve been working on various power bar recipes lately as I need some easy to pack snacks for an upcoming adventure. My husband and I are planning on climbing a 14’er (that would be a 14,000 foot mountain) this summer and of course I want to make sure we have the proper nourishment. These bars will work well for the two of us given our constitutions.
Like all of my recipes, I tested this one many times before posting it here. During one of my test batches the mixture was so thick that the food processor could not spin it further. When this happened, I pulled the mixture out of the food processor and finished working it together with my hands before placing it in the pan. In the event that this happens to you, feel free to use this little trick.
Finally, if you are wanting to reproduce my exact results, use blanched slivered almonds. The key really is the blanched more than the slivered. Recently, I have been purchasing my blanched slivered almonds at the Whole Foods here in Boulder. You can use almonds that are not blanched and you will get more fiber, however, I found the flavor profile was not as good when I made them this way.
As always, feel free to try out any and all substitutions that come to mind so that you can customize these bars to your exact dietary needs. Unfortunately, I don’t know how things will turn out without testing your substitutions, so will not answer substitution questions. Besides, if I did, I’d spend my entire life chained to the computer, and I need to train for that 14’er, remember?
Vanilla Fig Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched slivered almonds
- ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅛ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 15 drops vanilla stevia
- 1 cup dried figs, soaked in ½ cup water for 12 hours
Instructions
- Place almonds in food processor and pulse to texture of gravel
- Pulse in coconut, salt and stevia
- Pulse in figs
- Press mixture into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish
- Refrigerate for one hour
- Cut into 16 squares
- Serve
I like these bars as they have relatively few ingredients and are a fairly nutritious snack made of whole foods. Figs are antioxidant rich and full of fiber. Almonds (one of my favorite foods of all time) are a nutrient dense super food also full of fiber and substances that promote cardiovascular health. Coconut again provides fiber and good fats as well.
Just in case you have any big hiking or travel plans for this summer and need some good gluten free on the go snacks, here are a couple of my other bar recipes:
–Goji Power Bars
–Spicy Power Bars
–Cherry Vanilla Power Bars
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naomi(onefitfoodie) says
LOVE this recipe! its all about eating whole foods and when ingredients can come together in bar form, easy to grab and go? perfect!
gwen says
Does anyone know if you put the 1/2 cup of water in the food processor, or is it just used to plump up the figs?
acm says
I have the same question — seems it would work either way, but the water has a lot of stuff extracted into it by the end, so it might add flavor. Just not sure if it will make them hold together better or worse..
Betty Rocker says
This is awesome! I’ve been doing dates, pecans and cacao powder bars and love making raw bars in the food processor. What a great idea. You’re such an inspiration.
Kathy says
I am wondering if you chopped the figs or left them whole while soaking. :o)
RecipeNewZ says
Wonderful recipe! So simple to make, and so filling and healthy. And tasty :-). This is a must-try!
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I hope you get a chance to visit and to share some of your delicious posts with our viewers. It would be a pleasure to have you on board :-)
joanna perrin says
I’ve just recently gone gluten free and my stomach is definitely thanking me for it. I found your website and have tried some of the recipes including this fig bar. Thanks so much they’re yummy. I was wondering though why you don’t have any recipes with Quinoa.Is that not something that works well if you’re gluten free? Thanks again.
Susana says
I live in Australia…I could get the Stevia powder but not Stevia drops vanilla or anything similar… You guys are so lucky having everything u need at hand! Can anyone tell me the equivalent to: one drop= how many tsp in powder?
Thank you.
Kimberly says
Oh wow – those look delicious! You have tons of yummy recipes :)
AudreyV says
Thank you Elena! I just made these and they are super easy and so delicious! I forgot how good figs taste!
Meghan @ After the Ivy League says
These look delicious! I’m normally a chocolate freak but I’ve been craving something vanilla lately. I’ll have to try!