Trail Mix Energy Squares

February 19, 2011 By Leanne Vogel September 13, 2017

Holy giveaway! The mandatory entry for my snack attack giveaway is to tell me what your favorite snack in the whole world is. I’m seeing a lot of nut butter, yogurt, chobani, and more salsa and tortilla chip comments than I can count. I really need to try this Chobani stuff. I wonder if I can find it at the health food store in town. I’ve heard endless good things. My favorite comment so far was from Lorie, it made me giggle while I was waiting for my lunch yesterday:

Thank you all for your entries so far! We still have 4 days before the winner is announced, so make sure you take advantage of each of the 5 ways to enter!

On with the eats…

I used chickpea flour for the first time this week when I whipped up a batch of socca. This stuff is truly amazing, its so versatile! Not only is it ridiculously high in fiber, it’s high in protein too! Check out the nutrition benefits in just 1/4 cup:

Holy toledo, I’m in flour heaven! When I wanted to make a batch of pre-workout snacks yesterday, I decided to take chickpea flour for another spin and wasn’t disappointed.

Trail Mix Energy Squares

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 8 large bars

These bars are high in carbohydrates, low in sugar, and made with 100% pure and natural ingredients. They’ll give you just the right amount of energy you need to rock your workout, juggle the Saturday family schedule, or fuel you for a beautiful hike in the mountains. Inspired by: Oh She Glows

Ingredients

⅓ cup chickpea flour
¼ cup sprouted rice protein powder *see note
⅓ cup quinoa flakes
3 tablespoon ground flaxseed
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon himalayan rock salt
1½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup dried apricots, cut into small pieces
½ cup medjool dates, pitted, and cut into small pieces

Binding goodness:

½ apple, diced [any kind will do the trick]
½ cup prunes
¼ cup maple syrup or brown rice syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper across both sides for easy lifting. Then, line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon baking mat.
Scatter chopped walnuts on baking mat and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes [mine took 10]. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, place apple and prunes in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook for 5 minutes. Drain and puree with maple syrup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together chickpea flour, protein powder, quinoa flakes, flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Sit in the walnuts and dried fruit. Make sure the nuts and dried fruit are completely coated with the flour mixture.
Add the fruit puree mixture to the fruit and nut mixture and mix well. Spread into the 8×8 prepared pan, pressing with your fingers to even it out. If you don’t have a pastry roller, use a small medicine bottle to roll the bars as flat as possible. [Sorry Lactaid!]
Bake for 30-35 minutes at 325F or until golden. [Mine took 32 minutes]
Remove from the pan and allow to cool for 20 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife.

Notes

I used a natural flavored sprouted rice protein for one batch and vanilla for the second batch. Both worked out great. The protein powder does contribute significantly to the taste of the bars, so if you’re not a fan of flavored protein powder, I’d go with natural flavored. Any type of protein powder will do the trick: hemp, rice, whey, etc. Also, The protein powder can also be substituted with extra quinoa flakes.

View Nutritional Information (once on page scroll down)

I was pretty slow in the pool this morning. It could have been because I’d eaten a bit too many of these squares before my swim meet, or because I wasn’t motivated at all. I just couldn’t get into the grove. My head was all over the place, I kept hitting the lane divider with my right hand, and my goggles kept filling up with water?! Ugh I hate when that happens! When I got home, I ate another bar, told myself I tried my best, and marched upstairs to my office to catch up on my weekly health article reading. Better luck next Saturday I suppose. Do you try to keep a positive attitude when you’ve had an “off” day? What activities do you turn to to get your mind off things?

This entry was tagged: energy snack, granola, protein bar, snack bar