Amazing Strawberry Chia Bars

Strawberry Chia Bars

Couple of months ago, my friend and I went out hiking near the Torrey Pines Beach.  In the middle of our hike, she pulled out a bar from her backpack and offered it to me.  I gladly took it in need of some fuel. I took a bite and noticed how soft and flavorful the bar was.  It was nutty, fruity with a touch of crunch that kept me wondered what it was.  Then later, I read the ingredients on the label and found out it was chia that was giving the bar that crunch. I absolutely loved it.  Later on that afternoon, I decided to recreate the bars and came up with something that was even better and more delicious than a store bought organic chia bars.  I call my bar Simply Amazing Strawberry Chia Bars!

I made these bars for  my students many times since I have developed this recipe.  They always come back to me asking for more.  So here is the recipe.  It’s super easy to make, and I know once you start making these bars, you will never go to a store brand bars again.

You will need a powerful food processor or a blender to mix all your ingredients.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of raw almonds

1/2 cup of raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup of cashew nut or walnuts

1/2 cup pitted dates soaked in water for about 20 min.  You don’t have to soak them if you want more textured bars.

2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil

1/3 cup of chia seeds

1/3 cup of flax seeds

1/2 cup of dehydrated strawberries.  You can find these at Sprouts, Jimbos or Wholefoods. Your local supermarket might carry these as well.

1/3 cup of dehydrated bananas.

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

Method

In a blender mix almonds, pumpkin seeds, cashew and soaked dates (make sure you drain the water). Blend until it forms a small chunks and almost dough like consistency.  Add coconut oil, flax seeds, chia seeds and vanilla. Mix everything for about 5 seconds.  You don’t want the chia to break too much. Line 8×8 or smaller square pan with a parchment paper. Take the mixture from the blender or food processor and dump it in a bowl. Add your dehydrated strawberries and bananas.  Mix it all the ingredients together. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Flat it out completely. Refrigerate for at least 30 min. Slice into bars or squares.  Enjoy!