Almond Power Bars

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by HealthAliciousNess

My kids get the "snackies." A lot. They eat three big meals a day, but it just doesn't hold them. Midafternoon, they're opening the fridge and perusing the pantry, wondering what we've got to eat. Part of this is just the fact that they're kids who burn off everything they eat, but another part is that a lot of the things they eat just don't stick with them enough. Sometimes it's really hard to keep them full.

Raw nuts are a great choice to keep them full longer, but my kids won't eat them. I did, however, find a fantastic recipe in Maximized Living Nutrition Plans that is packed with raw nuts, among other healthy, tasty things, and because the nuts are ground up, my kids don't really realize they're eating them. They will, however, eat these almond power bars, and the bars do keep them full longer. My husband and I eat them, too, and it really helps keep the "snackies" at bay for all of us.

This is one of those recipes, though, that can rack up quite a bill at the grocery store if you don't have the ingredients on hand already. Once you have the ingredients, they'll last quite a while, but if your budget is super tight and you don't have the ingredients on hand already, consider purchasing just one or two of the ingredients each time you go to the store until you have all of them. I'll also give you some hints below for where to find the ingredients for the best prices.

Almond Power Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups raw almonds (I buy these in bulk at Sam's Club.)
1/2 cup flaxseed meal (You can buy this anywhere. Store it in your freezer, and it will last a really long time. I've only bought 2 bags of it in the past 9 months.)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional. I don't add this, but it is in the recipe.)
2 scoops flavored whey protein powder (Whole Food carries this in their store brand, 365. I use vanilla.)
1/2 cup raw almond butter. (Two words. Trader. Joe's. It is so, so much cheaper than anywhere else.)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup coconut oil (buying this in bulk is a lot cheaper. Wal mart also carries it in their baking aisle.)
8 drops liquid Stevia or 3/4 tsp. Stevia powder, to taste.
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla (check the label. Some brands add corn syrup. I buy McCormick vanilla at Sam's Club.)
8 squares unsweetend chocolate, melted and sweetened to taste. The original recipe calls for Stevia and cinnamon, but I prefer to add liquid Stevia and pure almond flavoring.

Let me give those ingredients to you one more time, without the notes. It'll be easier to read.
2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup shredded coconut, optional
2 scoops flavored whey protein powder
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
8 drops liquid Stevia
1 Tbsp. vanilla
8 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and sweetened to taste with stevia, and cinnamon or almond flavoring. (optional)

Directions:
Put almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, whey powder, almond butter, and salt in a food processor with the S blade. Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds.
In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil completely over very low heat. Remove oil from heat; add Stevia and vanilla. Pour this mixture into the food processor, then pulse again until ingredients form a coarse paste.
Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, then press mixture into the pan. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, or until hard.
In a double boiler, melt unsweetened chocolate squares, adding the sweeteners to taste. Spread over hardened bars and refrigerate until chocolate hardens (about 30 minutes). Remove and cut into bars right away.

Hints: The chocolate stays very dark, so if you don't prefer a very dark chocolate, consider eating the bars without the chocolate coating, or substituting the chocolate with sunflower nut butter or a combination of a nut butter and chocolate.

You can also crumble up this paste and use it to make apple-strawberry cobbler. It is delicious! We eat it for breakfast sometimes, with no guilt, because our topping is high in protein, not refined flour.