Puffed Quinoa Bars

It was on my to-do-list for too long… making my own granola bars.

Recently the mother of my son’s classmate recommended me a recipe and my son was very eager to try it out. That gave me the much-needed push to finally tackle some granola bar recipes. (Thanks, Julie 😉 )

Always when I saw puffed quinoa in stores I wanted to use it for some sort of homemade fun food for my kids. So last time I bought it. Since then it was sitting in my pantry and waiting for the right moment.

Puffed quinoa is rich in fiber, protein, and iron.

Compared to nutrients in puffed rice, you definitely have higher nutritional value by choosing puffed quinoa instead.

After browsing through some food blogs I have found a puffed quinoa bar recipe which caught my attention. Allison Day is the creator of the Taste Canada award-winning food blog Yummy Beet. Her recipe was the inspiration for me to finally open that bag of puffed quinoa and get started.

I have adapted the recipe to my taste (or my children’s taste) and I am pretty happy with the result.

This recipe contains gluten-free oats which can be substituted

with quinoa flakes. In regards to nut allergies, it does contain

cashew butter which can be skipped by adding more tahini instead. Depending on the chocolate chips you use it might be also free of refined sugar and dairy. I used 56% dark chocolate from a local chocolatier.

Hemp, chia, and pumpkin seeds contribute to a great nutritional value by adding protein, healthy fats, fiber, antioxidants, and minerals.

Compared to common commercial sugar and additive loaded granola bars, these puffed quinoa bars can be eaten without any guilt or side effects.

The sugar in these puffed quinoa bars comes from natural sources such as honey, maple or coconut syrup. These are less treated and processed than regular white sugar and therefore contains more of its natural minerals which are important and needed for the process of sugar metabolism. Regular white sugar is stripped of its minerals and thus depletes the body of its own stored minerals in order to properly metabolize sugar.

Don’t feel discouraged by the number of ingredients. Many are common pantry staples and the recipe itself is done in no time. Let me know if your kids like these bars as much as mine do!  Enjoy!

Puffed Quinoa Bars

Serves: 16 medium bars

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 60g | 2+1/2 cup cups puffed quinoa
• 45g | 1/2 cup rolled oats, old-fashioned
• 35g | 2/3 cups of toasted coconut flakes (or shredded coconut)
• 65g | 1/2 cup hemp seeds
• 60g | 1/3 cup chocolate chips, I used 56% dark chocolate
• 30g | 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 20g | 1 -2 tbsp chia seeds
• 10g | 1/8 cup dried black currants
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 60g | 1/4 cup tahini
• 60g | 1/4 cup cashew butter
• 60g | 1/4 cup coconut nectar
• 30g | 1/8 cup honey
• 35g | 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 25g cacao butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• optional, 1 tsp hydrolized collagen peptide powder
• optional, 1/2 tsp Chinese mushroom blend

Instructions

1

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

2

Take a second bigger metal bowl or pot, place on stove on very low heat, melt the cacao butter and coconut oil. Turn off the stove.

3

Add all remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. You can use a hand mixer but a spoon will work too. Stir until it gets a smooth soft paste. Let it cool down a bit otherwise, the chocolate chips will melt.

4

Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the soft paste.

5

Mix very well until the dry ingredients are completely coated with the paste. I used a big wooden spoon.

6

Transfer mixture onto a big piece of parchment paper.

7

The next step is to flatten and press that mixture as firm and compact as possible.

8

You can do this on a baking tray or another dish. The mixture will spread to a size of approximately half of a baking tray.

9

I pressed the mixture with all my weight between two wooden cutting boards lined with parchment paper.

10

If you have a dish approximately half the size of a baking tray, line with parchment paper and press the mixture with the bottom of a loaf pan (or whatever works) until it is very compact.

11

Chill for 3-4 hrs and then use a big knife with a smooth blade to cut into single serving sized pieces. To avoid crumbling and breaking try to rather push the knife down instead of a serrating move.

12

Wrap individually, freeze, or keep it in the fridge.

Notes

UPDATE / September 2018: For additional health and immune support add a Chinese mushroom blend. To increase protein content (amino acids) add a collagen powder. It benefits muscle growth, muscle soreness, fatigue and supports virtually all biochemical processes within cells.