We have been trying new ways of eating lately, beginning with making our own sauerkraut, and experimenting with energy bar recipes. Sauerkraut is easy enough, cut up a head of cabbage, toss in some sea salt, compress and cover indefinitely. Energy bars are another matter. While there are a zillion recipes out there for granola-like bars, I really wanted to find a “raw” food recipe, one that we didn’t have to bake but that stayed together. A seed bar, if you will, but not sticky with honey. We’ve been sugar free for some time now, and have even eliminated honey from our diets, feeling that we get all the sugar we need for the entire day from one piece of fruit or raw carrot sticks. We’re not against honey, in fact Estonians are really into their honey products, but once your body gets used to processing sugar from raw foods like carrots and apples, honey starts to taste uber-sweet. Also, it’s really really, really expensive.
It goes without saying, I think, that the biggest reason we need to change how we eat is to combat the effects of having a toddler at our age. We are physically and mentally taxed in ways that are so much easier to handle in your 20’s. Two years of interrupted sleep has not kept us younger. So we’re hoping that by eating smarter we’ll come out about the same as our empty-nester counterparts after all!
I tried about three recipes before falling in love with one. It was so good; in fact, I thought something was wrong, because it tasted better than cookie dough! Matt thought so too. Olivia was literally shoveling handfuls into her mouth today, while I hadn’t even mixed in all the oil. What I really wanted was the recipe for the Logia Bible Bar, made by House of David. They are yummy, and make you feel so great. Their recipe is based on the passage of Scripture in Deuteronomy containing the seven foods God said were good (in reviewing the scripture for this blog post I was struck with the emphasis God placed on the number 7 throughout the entire book):
"For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;" {of oil...: Heb. of olive tree of oil} Deuteronomy 8:7-8
So that was where I started, also being influenced by articles written by men about what they particularly liked in their bars, seeds and nuts. You need a food processor (I have a VitaMix) and can certainly take great liberty with substitutions. The idea is to just grind up a decent combination of nuts, seeds and sweetness with a grain. They preserve well in the fridge, wrapped in wax paper and/or saran wrap. Once grinding the grains you choose, toast them just for caution’s sake. You can choose wheat berries, oats, whatever grain you like. But I like barley. I use an even cup for all but the oils, and my measurements for the oils are total guesses, so be warned, you’ll have to experiment until you get a dense mixture that will pack down well with some weight. The nut butters help with that the best. It’s totally opposite from the granola bar concept, and packed with a zillion more nutrients. A little goes a long way in nourishing your body, not to mention the energy you feel is an enduring one, not the hi-fi buzz of caffeine or sugar that leaves you tired.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Barley, ground into a flour and toasted (odrakruubid in eesti keelt)
- ½ cup Olive oil – or coconut or grapeseed oil
- ½ cup Almond butter – peanut or cashew butter are also options
- 1 cup Coconut flakes (optional, I like the visual effect of white flakes)
- handful of Sea salt
- 2 T Maple syrup (optional) and/or honey or agave or whatever you like for sweetness
- 1 t Molasses (optional)
- 1 cup raisins and/or dates
- 1 cup dried apricots
- 1 cup Sunflower seeds
- ½ cup flax seeds
- 1 cup sesame seeds
- 1 t Vanilla or almond extract (optional, and not the cheap watery ones; the extracted oil in alcohol. If you are using Extra Virgin Olive Oil you’ll want something to overpower its flavor.)
Basically, grind all the dry ingredients into a meal. Mix the oils and flavorings separately. In a large bowl, work the oil mixture into the meal with your fingers. Pack it all into a flat pan and cut into pieces, or onto a piece of wax paper, or roll into balls. Refrigerate for a few hours. It keeps well in a fridge. Just reach in and grab some when you need energy.
Your imagination is really the limit. Roll them in a topping, dip them in chocolate, or crumble in yogurt, or add and delete ingredients per your taste, like legumes or sprouted grains that have been dried, or one of those puffed cereals. The whole point (besides slowing down the aging process!) is to start integrating seeds, nuts and good oils as snack foods, and to learn to use whole grains in more creative ways.
