Sunday, November 10, 2013

(P)raising the bar ...

Yes, please! These Primal Coconut Nut Bars
are sure to become one of my favorite treats!

I shared today’s recipe on the Celiyak Facebook page a few days ago. It appeared on my timeline as a post by the Gluten-Free Resource Directory, whose page I would definitely recommend for anyone with gluten issues. The GFRD puts up lots of great recipes and advice for those of us who shun gluten.

Anyway, I gathered my ingredients and followed this recipe to the letter for this wonderful refrigerator bar. I think it bears repeating, in case you missed it. I believe it works for the Paleo diet as well, if you are allowing yourself to eat raw honey.

Here is this clever recipe from creator Carly Shankman as she wrote it:

Primal Coconut Nut Bars

1 C. slivered almonds
1 C. pecans
½ C. nut flour (The author used Bob’s Red Mill hazelnut flour; I used almond flour.)
½ C. unsweetened dried coconut
½ C. almond butter
½ C. coconut oil
¼ C. honey
2 tsp. pure vanilla
½ tsp. salt
1 C. dried fruit, like cranberries

Preheat the primal cooking fire (oven) to 350 degrees and toast the nuts until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Watch them carefully; they’ll go from golden to black fast! Once they are toasted nicely, toss them in the stone grinder (the food processor or blender), and give them a few pulses until they are a coarse meal. Stir into the nut flour in a medium bowl and add the dried coconut and mix well.

On the stovetop, melt the coconut oil and almond butter; stir them together well. Remove from heat and add the honey, vanilla, and salt, and then mix until creamy. Fold the nut mix into the honey mix and add the dried fruit. Pat into an 8x8 baking dish (coated with coconut oil) and stick it in the ice cave (fridge) for 1 hour or more until nice and solid. I like to top mine with a little extra dried coconut before placing in the fridge. Cut into squares and try not to grunt when eating. Keep in the ice cave to store.



I love raw, nutty bars and butters. And speaking of raw, I recently discovered that HyVee carries Bob’s Gluten-Free Muesli. If you can tolerate gluten-free oats, I highly recommend it. I can’t comfortably eat gluten-free oatmeal every day, but I seem to do fine eating them once or twice a week. I learned to love muesli on my travels to Germany, where most German Youth Hostels serve muesli every morning. I like to soak the muesli in almond milk overnight and eat it uncooked. Yum!