Naked Nutrition Bars

on October 16, 2009 - 22 Comments

bars

Naked Nutrition Bars

Naked Nutrition Bars

In the world of energy bars, you are not short of choices. Visit any grocery store or natural food store, and you’re presented with a plethora of options ranging from the very popular whole-grain Kashi bars (which, if people actually understood how our bodies react to grains, they probably wouldn’t be so popular) to the dense, heavily packed super-food bars like Raw Revolution, and everything in between.

Believe me, I’ve probably tried every single one of the them. And although I’ve come across a very rare few that I actually enjoy eating, I still feel that most of them lack any sort of real nutrition.

So, I’m putting a disclaimer here with this recipe: There isn’t a bar, shake, or diet cookie out there that can ever replace the nutrition that real food has to offer. Thus, when considering this recipe, think of it as more of a tool. Your back-up plan to your back-up plan. Your Plan C. When times do get hectic, and you are running around like a crazy person, having a few of these bars sitting in your fridge can be a life-saver.

Just don’t rely on them everyday.

I have even specifically formulated this recipe to pack quite a bit of protein and fat. I’ve found that most of the “healthiest” energy bars I’ve tried, are loaded with sugar, even if it’s natural sugar. I don’t think I have even seen a bar that doesn’t use either dates or agave syrup. If you’re eating according to your Metabolic Type, and you’re a Fast Oxidizer or Protein Type, you’ll find it tough to eat some of these bars and not totally crash afterward. So I’ve made these bars to have as little sugar as possible, and be loaded with healthy fats and protein, and still taste YUMMY.

I do have to say so myself, that they are friggin’ AWESOME.

These Naked Nutrition Bars are raw, organic, and vegan. They’re also gluten, dairy, soy and grain-free. And packed with protein and fat. Enjoy!

And did I tell you that they are really are DELICIOUS?

"Sirena- I made these and we had them over the past 2 days. I left a bit of the almonds crunchy in there and it was awesome! Thank you so much for this recipe. They're soooo gooooood!! :)"Sirena,

I made these and we had them over the past 2 days. I left a bit of the almonds crunchy in there and it was awesome!

Thank you so much for this recipe.

They’re soooo gooooood!! :)

Ingredients:

Ingredients

Ingredients

Bars

  1. 2 cups soaked raw almonds
  2. 1 cup soaked raw cashews
  3. 1/2 cup soaked sesame seeds
  4. 1/2 cup flax meal
  5. 1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
  6. 3/4 cup unsalted creamy almond butter
  7. 1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
  8. 1/2 cup coconut oil
  9. 1/2 cup raisins
  10. 8 drops stevia
  11. 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

**Quick Tip — Depending on the size of your food processor, you may want to divide this in batches to ensure that everything gets incorporates. This recipe is meant to make a lot so you have plenty of leftovers.**

Dairy-free chocolate sauce (for the top of the bars)

  1. 3 tbs. coconut oil
  2. 6 tbs. organic maple syrup
  3. 2 tbs. raw cacao powder (add very slowly and whisk to play around with the consistency. Taste test before you finish to see if you would like to add more cacao for a thicker consistency. Remember, you can always add, but you can’t take away.)

**Do not heat for too long as it will start to clump**

Directions:

  1. Place soaked almonds, soaked cashews, flax meal, shredded coconut, almond butter, raisins and salt in a food processor.
  2. Pulse the mixture until everything gets incorporated. This may take several minutes as you may have to scrape the sides down.
  3. In a small sauce pan, melt the coconut oil over very low heat and add the stevia and the vanilla extract.
  4. Add the coconut oil mixture to the food processor and pulse again until the ingredients form a rough paste – again, this may take several tries as the mixture will begin to clump together. Be patient and scrape the sides every few pulses to incorporate the entire mix.
  5. Press the mixture into an 13×9 glass baking dish.
  6. Make the Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce by melting the 3 tbs. of coconut oil and adding the maple syrup. Slowly mix in the cacao powder and continue whisking the mixture. Depending on the consistency you’d like, you can add more or less cacao or oil/syrup to make it thicker or thinner.
  7. Pour the melted chocolate evenly over the bars, it helps to pick up the casserole dish and tilt it back and forth to allow the chocolate sauce to spread evenly.
  8. Place the casserole dish in the refrigerator to cool for at least two hours, allowing the mixture to harden.
  9. Remove from the refrigerator, and cut into bars and serve. You can vacuum pack the rest and freeze for the future!
Naked Nutrition Bars

Naked Nutrition Bars

On a side note, I’d like to thank my fitness and Facebook buddy Chris Smith for his recommendation for this post. Thanks Chris, good look!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  • Amy Cooper

    Yum those sound great, can’t wait to try them !!!!

  • sirenab

    Girrrrrrrrrrrrl, you have no idea. Just to warn you, they are ADDICTING. There is just enough sweetness to curb your cravings, and they’re very hearty, full of good fat and protein to keep you satiated. Let me know how they turn out. Thanks for your comment, I totally appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks — so exciting! :)

  • http://sixpackabsproject.com todd scott

    Hey Sirena,

    I just emailed your yahoo acct. from a gmail addy. Just want to make sure you get it. If it’s not in your inbox, check the spam folder, k?

    Thanks!
    Todd

  • Chris Smith

    Those look awesome I can’t wait to try them out. Any idea what the nutrition specs are on them?

  • sirenab

    Hi Todd, just responded to your email, good thing you mentioned because it wound up in the spam folder. Welcome to the blog, hope to see you around here more.

    @Chris — gooooooood question. I’ll break it down this weekend and let you know as soon as I figure it out. Just have to crunch some numbers. Thanks for your comments, look forward to seeing you around the blog!

    Ciao.

  • http://www.OurNaturalLife.com/blog/ Cathy Payne

    Thanks for this post, Sirena! My friend Celeste has been looking for something to replace her DH’s protein bar habit. I was suggesting pemmican. These could work, too!

  • sirenab

    Thank you for your comment Cathy, and I hope Celeste likes them. Although, she may be giving up her protein bar habit in exchange for a Naked Nutrition Bar habit! Pemmican would be the most ideal, but these can come in handy when the time calls. Great if you can vacuum seal and freeze too. I look forward to more of your podcasts!

  • Celeste

    Thanks Sirena and Cathy! I’ll see if these go over with my DH. He’s a marathon runner, so always looking for a packed power source made with real food. These look really yummy – don’t know if he’ll actually get any!

  • sirenab

    Celeste, thanks for stopping by and joining the group here at the blog. I’d love to hear what you think of the recipe when you make it. They are definetly packed with some nutrition — protein and a ton of good, healthy fat. I find that they really help satiate me especially since I’m very sensitive to sugar, which is why I don’t like using dates or agave syrup. The thin layer of dairy-free chocolate on the top is more than enough to satisfy any sweet craving.

    Sirena

    p.s. I feel silly asking, but what’s a “DH”? lol

  • http://theskinnyonline.blogspot.com/2009/03/pass-dharma-eggs.html Lisa Sargese

    I have most of the ingredients on hand now! Finally, a real food recipe for a decent “bar”. Since giving up table sugar and artificial sweeteners I don’t need things to be super sweet. I bet these are just perfect! I’ve added you to my blog roll :-)

  • sirenab

    Lisa,

    Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, even some of the best “bars” are full of sugar because they use agave and dates. I find that the sweetness is overwhelming. With the Naked Nutrition Bars, the shredded coconuts add a nice natural sweetness and the thin layer of chocolate on top is juuuuuuuust enough. A quick tip: You may have to divide the ingredients in half to put them in your food processor depending on how big it is. I have a fairly big food processor and had to make two batches. You’ll have enough to last you a while. Let me know how they turn out!

    Thanks for joining the group here at the blog and thanks for the add to the blogroll, much appreciated! :)

    Ciao for now,

    Sirena

  • http://SynergyKettlebellKamp.com Bob Garon

    This looks absolutely amazing!!! You are a genius!

    I love, love, love chocolate on the healthy side. :)

  • sirenab

    Bob,

    Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate it! I hate to be the one to say it, but they are friggin’ AMAZING! I just scoffed down a bar right before I hopped online. They are the perfect blend of hearty and sweet. The raw cacao adds a nice element to the bars. Thanks for joining the group here at the blog, talk soon!

    Sirena

  • http://getfit-campers.com Anthony McClellan

    Yum Yum Yum. All I got to say. Look forward to following this blog.

    btw, dh stands for something husband.

  • Barb Wall

    Hi Sirena- These sound incredible! I’ve been struggling the past week with a wicked chocolate craving and I’m hoping these will help. I have a question about the Stevia- you mentioned putting “drops” in the recipe. I only have a box of the small packets- can you tell me if I can use these or do I need to go out and buy the liquid? Thanks again for all your help and dedication to so many people! You’re awesome! :o )

  • sirenab

    @Anthony, welcome to the blog, and thank you for your comment and for all your help with my blogging questions. I look forward to your comments and seeing you around here. BTW, I Google’d “DH” and it stands for “Dear Huband”…or “Designated Hitter” if we’re talking about baseball…or a mistress! Ha!

    @Barbara, yes, I had you in mind as I was making this recipe. This is a great way to curb those occassional sweet cravings and not feel guilty about it. Consider these a “safe” choice to go with the healthy eating plan we’ve been working on. But like I mentioned, try not to rely on them everyday. You are doing awesome so far girl, keep it up! And when those cravings come up again, recognize what they are, and look them in the face. When you feel them come on, be prepared by having a few of these in your fridge or freezer. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. You rock! :)

    p.s. In regards to the stevia…I would suggest investing in some of the liquid stuff, as it’s meant to be used be baking/cooking. I feel that it will incorporate better. The packets can be used for adding to coffee, tea, drinks, etc.

  • http://SynergyKettlebellKamp.com Bob Garon

    Sirena- I made these and we had them over the past 2 days. I left a bit of the almonds crunchy in there and it was awesome!

    Thank you so much for this recipe. They’re soooo gooooood!! :)

    Bob

    P.S. I’m passing these out to my Kettlebell Kampers this week.

  • http://www.thenakeddish.com Sirena

    Thanks Bob! Hope your Kettlebeller’s enjoy them too :)

    p.s. Hope you don’t mind I used your pic and quote in the post above.

  • arun

    Hi, Thanks for this recipe, I was wondering how long will this keep in the fridge???

  • sirenab

    Thanks for the comment Arun, and for stopping by. They lasted about 6 or 7 days in the fridge, and they are better when they are cold because of the coconut oil which, obviously melts when warm :) )

    Let me know how it turns out for you!
    :)

  • sarah

    I think these look yummy. We don’t use stevia. How much cane sugar would you use? Thanks

  • sirenab

    Hi Sarah! They are yummy, if I do say so myself. You know, I don’t know how exactly how much cane sugar to use, but I would say very little. The raisins and the coconut add some sweetness to it, and perhaps you could even try honey or maple syrup instead!

    Let me know how you make out!

    S