Chewy Protein Energy Bars

I loved this picture of my daughter throwing up the leaves yesterday. She was an angel. She came and raked up and bagged 10 bags of leaves and carted them away. We have wonderful children who bless our lives in so many ways. I have loved the times my children and grandchildren have enjoyed playing in our leaves. There are a lot more leaves to come. The trees still have a lot of leaves on them. :) The raking and bagging is not over.

It is easy to find a lot of energy bars in the store. They are often very expensive and a lot a times you need a dictionary to decipher what the ingredient its. The safest bet and healthiest is to make your own ahead of time. Then you know exactly what you are eating.  The key is to make up a batch of them ahead of time and then you will have them ready to go when you need them.

These are loaded with protein. They are low in sweetener and taste great. You can make them your own by being creative and adding your favorite dried fruit or you can leave it out. I left it out this time.  I loved the soft chewiness of these bars. They also had just the right amount of sweetness.  Have a great weekend.


Ingredients

1/2 C chia ground *
1 C Old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 C sunflower seeds
1/4 C whole grain flour (I used spelt)
1/2 C dried fruit of your choosing * optional
1/2 C raw almonds
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C soft dates
1 tsp cinnamon
2 T coconut oil
5 T honey
2 eggs


Directions  Heat oven to 350

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse and blend everything except oil.  honey and eggs. Blend until all broken down.
2. Pour in bowl add oil, honey and eggs. Blend until all combined. I used a wire whisk to get it all to blend together. It will be a thick paste.
3. Grease a 9x9 pan (I love the way stone ware cooks.) Grease pan or line with parchment paper.
4. Place in oven and bake about 15 min or until done.
5. Take out of oven and let cool about 15 min before cutting.
6. Store wrapped up in air tight container individually so they are ready to grab. You can store in the fridge for 3 days or freeze them up to 3 months.

* I ground up chia ahead of time in a small grinder.