Almond Buckwheat Goji Raw Bars

May 16, 2011 By Leanne Vogel September 13, 2017

There’s a couple of things I look for in a good snack recipe,

naturally sweet
freezable. So I can have snacks for weeks to come!
on hand ingredients. I have so many goji berries, it’s unreal.
fool proof. So what if I added a couple extra dates? The recipe turned out fine. The same cannot be said for the quinoa muffins I tried to make on Saturday :|
challenging. Yes, this is completely different than the point above. Sometimes I like a good challenge, which is why I tried the quinoa muffins. Happy that these bars were my backup plan.

These bars hit more than a couple of my qualifications, so you can imagine my delight when I came across them on What Runs Lori.

This recipe couldn’t be easier. I still got to get “creative” when I realized I was out of chocolate chips [other than the few you see in the pictures. Priorities, right?] and had to come up with a quick carob/chocolate chunk recipe!

Almond Buckwheat Goji Raw Bars

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar free, Yeast free, Corn free

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 hours

Total time: 10 hours 10 mins

Serves: 16 Bars

Chewy date squares filled with sprouted buckwheat, goji berries, and homemade carob chunks. Adapted from Lori’s ABG Raw Bars

Ingredients

1 cup medjool dates, pitted [about 14]
⅓ cup almond meal *see note
½ cup raw buckwheat grouts, sprouted [yield: 1 cup sprouted]
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
¼ cup goji berries
¼ cup carob/chocolate chunks [recipe below]
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch himalayan rock salt

Instructions

To sprout buckwheat: place the raw buckwheat grouts in a glass container and fill with water. Place a lid on it and store it in the fridge overnight to soak. In the morning, drain and rinse, then tip the container upside down onto a kitchen towel. Allow to sit for 1 hour to make sure all of the water has escaped. Flip right side up and leave on the counter for 24 hours. At the 12 hour [or so] mark, fill with water and drain again and follow the steps above. Your buckwheat should be ready at the 24 hour mark! Spread out onto a kitchen towel to make sure most of the moisture is removed.
To make bars: place dates, almond meal, buckwheat, coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor. Process until desired consistency is met. Drop mixture into a large bowl and mix in goji berries and carob chunks. Line a 9×9 square pan with parchment paper across both sides for easy lifting and push mixture into prepared pan.
Option #1 if you don’t have a dehydrator: Place in the freezer for an hour to harden before cutting into uniform squares. Enjoy from the freezer or at room temperature.
Option #2 if you do have a dehydrator: Place in the freezer for 10 min to set before cutting into uniform squares. Place cut bars in the dehydrator on 115F for 8-10 hours.

Notes

You can make your own meal by pulsing ~1/2 cup almonds in the food processor until broken down – not as fine as flour

View Nutritional Information (once on page scroll down)

You can steal a couple of sprouted groats before dropping them in the recipe, no judging here!

Carob or chocolate chunks

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar free, Yeast free, Corn free

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: ¼ cup of chunks

Why spend money on chocolate chunks when you can make your own for a fraction of the cost?

Ingredients

2 tablespoon carob or cacao powder
2 tablespooncoconut oil, melted
Pinch white stevia extract *see note

Instructions

Mix together, simple as that. Spread on a parchment lined flat surface and allow to cool in fridge. Chop into chips, store in a cool place until ready to use.

Notes

you can also use 1 teaspoon honey or agave if you despise stevia!

View Nutritional Information (once on page scroll down)

Upside to ABG bars: they serve as great motivation to push yourself through your long run of the week so you can get home and have a healthy treat.

Speaking of long runs, I headed out Sunday morning for my 9.4km run. I’d put it off on Saturday because it was so windy. Let’s just say I wish I’d done it Saturday and not Sunday. There were moments I thought I was going to fall over, no joke. I was going in and out of residential areas trying to get out of the wind, but it didn’t matter where I went, or in what direction, the wind found me.

My average pace is 6:40/km, so you can tell how challenging this was! I figured 8.6km in wind was the equivalent of 9.4km with no wind. In other running news, I made the jump and signed up for a half marathon!

I had originally wanted to participate in the marathon, but have realized that it’s okay to go slow when you want to be a runner for life. What’s the rush? Better to build up strong so I can rock hundreds of marathons in the years to come, than set myself back with another injury. A lot of athletes will be there trying to qualify for the Boston marathon, so it sure will be inspiring! Have you ever ran in serious wind? Any pointers? Do you have any tasty goji berry recipes you’d like to share with me? Making these bars reminded me of how many bags [yes, bags…] of gojis I have! What are some of the requirements you have for homemade snacks?

This entry was tagged: carob, no bake, raw