Super-Seed Snack Bars
Ingredients:

  • ⅓ cup tahini
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • ½ cup raw unsalted pepitas (see Tip)
  • ½ cup unsalted sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup chia seeds
  • ¼ cup hemp seeds
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8-inch-square pan with parchment paper, leaving extra hanging over 2 sides. Coat the parchment and pan sides with cooking spray.
  2. Combine tahini and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until just mixed and warmed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt.
  3. Combine coconut, pepitas, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds in a large bowl. Add the tahini mixture and stir until evenly coated. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan.
  4. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Using the overhanging parchment, lift out the uncut squares. Place on a cutting board and cut into 25 squares.

Tips: Pepitas are pumpkin seeds, but they differ from the seeds you scrape out of your Halloween pumpkin: they come from certain varieties of pumpkins that produce seeds without a tough outer hull. You can find pepitas in bulk bins in natural-foods stores and large supermarkets, and online at nuts.com and elsewhere.

To make ahead: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Equipment: Parchment paper
Cherry-Cocoa-Pistachio Energy Balls
Ingredients:

​1 ½ cups dried cherries
¾ cup Worcestershire sauce, or more as needed
½ cup almond butter
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
  1. Combine cherries, pistachios, almond butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped, 10 to 20 times, then process for about 1 minute, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is crumbly but can be pressed to form a cohesive ball.
  2. With wet hands (to prevent the mixture from sticking to them), squeeze about 1 tablespoon of the mixture tightly between your hands and roll into a ball. Place in a storage container. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Tips: To make ahead: Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

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​Sources:
  • Lipton, Beth. "Super-Seed Snack Bars". Eating Well, n.d., ​https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/273186/super-seed-snack-bars/. Accessed 13 February 2022.
  • Martinelli, Katherine. "Cherry-Cocoa-Pistachio Energy Balls". Eating Well, September 2020, https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/281104/cherry-cocoa-pistachio-energy-balls/. Accessed 13 February 2022