Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Allergy-friendly recipe: Chocolate muesli bars


This recipe was kicking my butt. I just couldn't nail it. I tried so many variations and they all fell flat. But I didn't give up. I knew the perfect allergy-friendly muesli bar must be possible; Something delicious, nutritious and free from the most common allergens.

Well, I'm happy to say, this is the recipe.

I love it.

It tastes rich, sweet and chocolatey, yet it's full of highly nourishing flaxseed, chia seeds, coconut and cocoa butter. I've used brown rice syrup combined with Natvia to sweeten these muesli bars without overly spiking blood sugar levels. You are welcome to substitute those sweeteners with honey or unrefined sugar cane sugar if that's what you have on hand. Children should be fine with those more fructose-rich sweeteners as they are growing and need lots of energy, but adults will need to be more careful.

These muesli bars store well in an airtight container, making them an easy breakfast option for those mornings when you need to grab and run.

Otherwise, try wrapping them in baking paper secured with twine to pack into lunchboxes.

These muesli bars are free from dairy, nuts, gluten and refined sugar.

Ingredients
  • 1/2c cocoa butter (I got mine from Bulk Foods in Mount Eden)
  • 1/2c organic rice syrup or honey
  • 1/4c Natvia
  • 1/4c cocoa
  • 1t vanilla essence
  • 2c coconut chips/flakes, or desiccated coconut
  • 1/2c chia seeds
  • 1/2c ground flaxseed
  • Pinch salt
  • 1t ground nutmeg

Method
  1. Preheat oven to 150°C / 300°F. 
  2. Melt cocoa butter, honey/rice syrup, Natvia, cocoa and vanilla essence together on a medium-low heat.
  3. Mix the coconut flakes, chia seeds, ground flaxseed, salt and ground nutmeg into the melted chocolate syrup until well combined.
  4. Spoon mixture into a greased and lined 20cm x 20cm baking pan.
  5. Spread and flatten mixture with a silicone spatula, compressing it as you go.
  6. Bake at 150°C / 300°F for 20 - 25 minutes.
  7. Allow to cool before slicing into bars or squares with a very sharp knife.
  8. Store in an airtight container.

1 comment:

  1. Hey there lady! I recognize you!!! So nice to have you submit to our blog hop! Hope you are well!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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