Gingerbread homemade bars: the perfect healthy snack for a busy lifestyle
Healthy snack … a puzzle?
The snack is that elusive meal that makes it or breaks it in diet terms. The one that puzzles the most committed healthy eaters and also the subject I get asked about most frequently by my readers:
– Hey Silvia, what can I eat as a healthy snack?
Healthy snacking is a vast subject, and also the center of Episode 8 of Glow Chef Radio – actually, this is the last episode on Season 1. There, we’ll cover everything there is to know about snacking, including goals, types of snacks and actual suggestions for every occasion.
You should definitely go and listen to the episode if this is a subject you care about!
In my life, there is room for many different types of snacks and one of them – also perfect for kids all ages – is the homemade cereal & seed bar.
I’ve been sharing recipes for quite some time now and keep adding to them as the seasons – and my appetite – change.
Homemade bars: other recipes
Healthy snacks have been a favorite theme of mine here on the blog…
I’ve recently published three recipes for homemade bars and energy balls on barbara.pt. Bárbara is a very dynamic Portuguese TV personality and influencer, with whom I share many interests, including fitness and healthy eating. She invited me to collaborate on her platform, sharing easy to cook, delicious to eat recipes that fit her routines and nutrition goals.
After developing those three recipes for Bárbara, I was so fired up with the process – and entirely addicted to the treats – that I decided to test different flavors for these quick cook bars.
It’s gingerbread season!
This version that I’m now sharing with you is my TOP favorite right now. I’ve been making these bars non-stop, as they are perfect for my mid-afternoon snack but also as a quick breakfast for my daughter, who also sneaks an extra one in her bag, for a highly covetable mid-morning snack.
The core of the bar is made of oats and seeds. The added flavors are almond butter and that really inviting and warming spice mix we use for gingerbread – a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, and ginger, to which I add extra cinnamon, just because I really love it.
These bars go into the oven for 15 minutes, just the perfect timing for you to prepare other things you want to roast – like your root veggies for dinner – so you don’t start the oven just for the bars.
I find energy saving to be an essential subject in clever cooking, and I always make sure I make the most of my big oven.
The recipe
Ingredients
For one loaf pan; makes 10 bars.
- 100g rolled oats
- 50g pumpkin seeds
- 50g sunflower seeds
- 10g sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 50g maple syrup
- 20g coconut oil
- 1/4 tsp gingerbread spice mix
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 6 dried apricots
Method
Line a loaf pan with baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Melt the coconut oil and dice the apricots.
Place all ingredients except the apricots in a food processor. Pulse 4 times to break down and mix the ingredients to a moist coarse sand texture.
Add the apricots and pulse 2 more times.
Transfer the mix to the pan and press it very well, paying particular attention to the corners.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. It should get honey colored.
Take the pan out from the oven and let it cool completely.
Cut the bars to your favorite size. I usually keep mine in the fridge, but they don’t last long 😉
