No bake double chocolate and prune energy bars
These no bake double chocolate energy bars are SPECTACULAR. I will start by saying that not only these bars are versatile but they are simple to make and super super nutritious.
Do you have high cholesterol? well if you do or know someone that does these bars are the perfect treat. Prunes have the soluble fiber you need to lower cholesterol. I am sure you have heard about cheerios or oatmeal doing such right? That is because they contain soluble fiber (cheerios not that much, oatmeal its sort of ok) but there are other better food options that can lower cholesterol much better, and this is one of them.
Not only prunes have quite a lot of soluble fiber but they are very rich in antioxidants as well.
These bars are a really easy way to get soluble fiber in, not to mention the amount of flax seed meal that it is also included in the recipe and that it also contains tons of soluble fiber :-) THESE BARS ARE A SUPER SUPER POWERFUL NUTRITIOUS TREAT.
Just a little FYI note about how soluble fiber lowers cholesterol: Lowering cholesterol through diet it is pretty simple. Because cholesterol is recycled in the body and it is not excreted the only way you can lower it is by adding soluble fiber foods in your diet. Why? cholesterol will get attached to the soluble fiber and then excreted. It is as simple as that!!
Anyhow, I was thinking of getting my husband some protein energy bars for Christmas. I was thinking of getting them in bulk since they are super expensive. Instead, I am going to make him some home made energy bars using this recipe since he already likes them a lot.
They will be pretty much like these ones but I will add the protein powder he always has for breakfast in the morning so that they can be protein energy bars :-) I will make him a bunch. He is going to be super pleased…….
Well enjoy this super food. They may not look good but they taste awesome :-) or at least we think so…..
Enjoy!!
You can cut the energy bars as you wish. I cut them as squares some times rather than bars :-)
Here you can see one of the first steps. The flax seed, the dark chocolate chips and the almonds already made into a meal texture, all being mixed together. The right picture is after all of the ingredients are blended together in the food processor.
The next step is the peanut butter, prunes and honey. The right picture is after all of the ingredients are mixed together including the previous almond mixture.
Then I pad it down in the square baking pan, place the parchment paper over it and top it with a small plate. I place in the fridge for about 2-3 hours before I cut the bars.
PrintNo bake double chocolate and prune energy bars
Miryam's original recipe
Yield: 14-16 bars
Total Time: 20 minutes max!
Ingredients:
1 lb whole pitted prunes
1 cup raw or toasted almonds
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2-3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons organic peanut butter, you can use any brand you like but make sure it has no hydrogenated oils
Directions:
Line a 8 by 8 inch square pan with a piece of unbleached parchment paper so that the paper hangs over the long edges (you can use any other size square pan you may have). Set aside.
In a food processor, with the metal blade, add almonds and pulse until coarse bread crumbs have formed. Add dark chocolate chips and flax seed meal and pulse until finely chopped. Place this mixture in a bowl and set aside.
Place prunes, honey, peanut butter and cocoa powder into the food processor and pulse until mixture is finely chopped and it comes together nicely. Add previous almond mixture into the food processor and pulse for a few seconds until everything come together.
Press the mixture evenly over the pan and fold excess parchment over the bars. Place a plate to cover the bars, like in the picture, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Transfer the mixture to a cutting board and cut as desired. I keep my bars wrapped in wax paper in the fridge. Unrefrigerated bars are good for about a day or two.
Nutrition facts are calculated based on the recipe giving 14 servings. Notice this is high in fiber.
Hello there. My name is Miryam and I am the clinical dietitian and Physician Assistant behind Eat Good 4 Life. My wish is to inspire you to start cooking healthier so that you can live a longer and happier life. Thanks for stopping by (
Me encantan estas barritas y me ha gustado mucho toda la información que nos has dado…muchos besos
seems extremely healthy, which is good for me. And prunes get you to that holiday mood. :)
these look yummy and healthy! I love that they are no bake!
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These are pretty good, but I likely wouldn’t make them again because my food processor had a really hard time getting through the prunes! I actually had to add a bit of water to keep it from just balling up and stalling. Also, the mixture is so sticky/goopy that clean up involved everything it touched being soaked for a while before it could be cleaned. So, too much hassle for me for a simple no-bake recipe.
Although, if I DID do it again, maybe just doing the prunes in batches as opposed to the whole amount would be easier on the food processor.
AVA
Coat the prunes in the cocoa powder. That solved the problem for me. Also just pulse or it will ball up. Soaking things because they got sticky before cleaning really isnt a neccassary step of cleaning. These energy prune bars are wonderful. My daughter wont go near many of the ingredients by themselves. But she absolutely loves these. Great way to get health food into her. Thanks for the recipe.
Wow! These look so interesting. I bet they give you a great energy boost!
Tiffany
http://LifeFoodStore.com
I made those yesterday, but sed 85% dark chocolate, and they came out divine! Bit savory and spicy, but with a hint of sweetnes provided by the prunes.
Thank you so much for this recipe! :D
I made these after seeing the link on Pinterest- they are DELICIOUS! Thank you!
I found your recipe via Pinterest and made these bars for my backpacking trip this weekend, I love them! I also linked back to you on my page in the 11 Random Game. To continue the game and to check out details, visit my post at http://alyssascookingadventures.blogspot.com/2012/01/11-random-game.html.
I have an allergy to peanut butter- was wondering what replacement like cashew or almond butter you would recommend? Thank you!
Rigid posterior RN,
Any of them will work. The almond butter would be just great!!
Thanks for visiting my blog :-)
I made these a while back and loved them! Quick snack on the go, great for pre-workouts, easy to make, and so delicious. Only issue was that prunes sometimes have hard bits of the seed in them. Not sure how to get around this, just chew carefully.
Joselyn,
interesting. Maybe is the brand of prunes. I get mine at TJoe’s and so far so good.
My food processor is not to powerful so sometimes I get big prune chunks but we are ok with that!!
I am glad you like them. Thanks for commenting and hope you keep coming back!!
We recently discovered that my daughter is allergic to most tree nuts. What could I substitute for the almonds in this recipe? Most often I leave out the nuts, but I am concerned that the texture of these bars might suffer.
Unknown,
how about 1/2 cup oatmeal? I think that would work!!
Thanks 4 visiting my blog :-)
Thanks for the tip. I bet the oatmeal will work. I love the taste of almonds and their healthy benefits so this is unfortunate. However, I just need need to be more creative! speaking of creative, I love your blog.
How much protein powder would you add to make these energy bars? Thanks!
Sue,
I would probably wouldn’t add more than 1/2 cup to make sure that it doesn’t turn out too dry. But then again you can add some liquid, like a bit of soy milk or regular milk, if it does turn too dry. I don’t think you would need to though.
Let me know how it turns out!!
Thanks for visiting my blog.
It looks delicious and good i will try it and let you know, thx.
Can you tell me how big the cup is for measuring the ingredients
Thanks you
Is about 240 grams or ml. I hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by
Miryam, these are fabulous! Thank you for the recipe.
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Great recipe! I am not able to buy flaxseed meal here. May I substitute simply with grounded flaxseed. Pleae advise. Thank you.
Sure thing. That would be just fine :-) Thanks for visiting!!
Would medjool dates work in place of the prunes?? If so, do I have to adjust the amount?
Yes you can use dates in place and same amount too :-) Thanks for stopping by.
Hey there,
I follow you on instagram and I have one very important question. Are your recipes safe for someone who takes Coumadin daily? My mother can’t have much vitamin k. I look forward to hearing form you soon. We are trying to get healthy the right way. Thank you in advance for your response.
Your mom should be avoiding any rich Vitamin K foods while taking blood thinners. I don’t remember the list of Vitamin K rich foods but you can google it and find out which ones to avoid. I hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by.
I just made these and my kids and I loved them. They were very chewy and the kids were convinced they were brownies :)
I would love to adapt these to be dairy and nut free so I can send them to school (my son is in a dairy-free class and the whole school is nut-free). Do I just need to substitute the almonds and peanut butter for 1/2 cup of oatmeal as you suggested above?
Thanks for the great recipe!
That is awesome. I am glad they liked them…shew :-) :-) Kids are most tough critics!
Love these – I make them all the time. I’ve also blown up a food processor that wasn’t powerful enough to deal with the prunes … but my husband especially loves the rich fruity flavor and raves about them to all his mates as well! I’ve also tried it with whole flaxseeds, rather than the meal, almond butter instead of peanut butter, walnuts instead of almonds – the possibilities are endless! Even took some to work one time and no one realised they were eating prunes!
That is awesome. I need to make more things like this with prunes. They are so good..Thanks for stopping by!
do you have any suggestions for what I can substitute for flaxseed meal? Oatmeal, chia seeds, hemp seeds? Really anything? Looks like a great recipe!!
You can leave it out if you like but any chia or hemp seeds would be great!!
I love how these came out, like fruity fudgy brownies. I only had about tablespoon of honey and really it was plenty sweet already. It’s great that you can mix it up with different nut and nut butters and I bet juicy dried figs or dates would work as well as prunes. Thanks for this recipe, it’s def staying in the recipe box.
Hi. I don’t have a food processor. Any suggestions? I would love to make these! Thx.
I have no idea, I am sorry!
Hi Miriam,
I’d love to try these, but I’m looking for nice recipes to stock up the freezer with. Would you reckon I can freeze these?
Thanks in advance!
Yes. Totally! You should be able to freeze these no problem.