Homemade nut bars

Homemade nut bars are a breeze to make.  These kind of remind me a bit of the birdseed slice that mum used to make when we were kids – only without all the butter.  Home made nut bars are, in my opinion, better than the supermarket ones I’ve tried.  They’re a little sticky and chewy but still crunchy and delicious.  Plus it’s a no bake recipe so they’re quick to make.

Combining ingredients like fruit, nuts, seeds, oats plus other whole food ingredients to make muesli bars / snack bars  gives you a snack that provides high quality nutrition and the energy you need to fuel your day.

I am totally in love with the bulk bins so I used one of my favourite mixes, Alison’s Pantry Raw Power mix to make these bars.  It’s a great combo of brazil nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts as well as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and buckwheat.  It contains a hint of dried fruit – apricots, dates and goji berries plus coconut.  Plus it’s pretty good value – normally around $1.89 per 100g.

 

Recipe for homemade nut bars

2 tablespoons of almond butter (you could use also peanut butter)
2.5 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons of honey
1 1/2 cups Raw Power mix, or fruit/nut mix of your choice + 4 tablespoons to press on top
2 heaped teaspoons of psyllium husks

In a medium sized pot over a medium heat, melt the almond butter, coconut oil and honey together and bring to a gentle boil. As soon as the mixture starts to bubble, turn the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat.  Mix through the raw power mix, then sprinkle over the psyllium husks and stir well.

Press into a small baking dish – mine measures cm by cm.   The extra raw power mix can now be pressed into the top of the mixture.

Cut into squares.  Makes either 9 long squares, or 18 small squares.  These are energy dense snacks, so pick the small squares if you’re fairly inactive during the day.

These homemade nut bars will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge – I like to freeze mine wrapped up in wax paper – then I just pull out before work and have as an afternoon snack.  They do go soft out of the fridge, so best kept cold.