A simple, delicious grain free trail mix blondie bar made with dried fruit, nuts, honey/coconut sugar, and nut butter! Naturally sweetened, easy to make, and perfect for travel, snacks, breakfast, or a healthy dessert alternative!
Raise your hand if this week kicked your butt? Raise your hand if you are so glad it’s Friday? Raise your hand if could really go for a treat right now?
I have all three hands raised. Okay two but you get my point. Phew, this week was long! But I’m glad we tackled it with my FUEL WEEK theme. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Just check out Mondays’ Breakfast FUEL and Wednesday Electrolyte drink FUEL.
Well, today’s FUEL recipe is all about the snacks and desserts; gluten free of course!
If you’re like us, summer has you running around like CRAZY! And in the midst of running around there’s till training and travel and races and hopefully a vacation at some point. Haha. Needless to say, snacks or healthy dessert bars for FUEL are great to have on hand. I usually make all our travel snacks/dessert bars with natural sugars and always gluten free and/or grain free. I know, here we go again with the grain free talk. But here’s the thing, when you are traveling or just more active than usual, that could cause a little more “stress” on the body. Or rather, more free radicals are produced in the body. The best way to help fight those free radicals and inflammation (stress) is by eating REAL food; preferably real food that your body can digest well. Yes yes, there is a time and place for decadent sweets and treats. I will not deny that. But if you’re looking to keep that immune system in tip top shape while you travel, then focusing on simple wholesome REAL food will surely help! And for us, grain free or gluten free is a must. But dang, I’ve been eating gluten free since 2009 so I don’t really remember what gluten taste like. LOL! Although, I still swoon over the yeast rolls at Christmas … sigh. Anyways, I digress.
Okay back to my post here –> gluten free, grain free, it doesn’t have to be taste free. HA! It can be me delicious! And with SIMPLE ingredients.
That being said, I just might be tricking your mind with these bars… um, I mean blondies. You might just think they are the real deal.
Blondies are basically brownies without the chocolate. In fact, they use brown sugar instead of chocolate, which helps give it that molasses flavoring. My recipe uses a combo of honey and/or coconut sugar and nut butter as the “melted chocolate” part. So you see, it taste like a handful of your favorite trail mix (snack/fuel) but also like a chewy crumbly dessert bar. Oh heavens, enough of me describing it, let me just show you the recipe. And p.s. I have a “frosting” that you can add on top. Keep reading!
Yields 9-12
10 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
25 minTotal Time
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup creamy nut butter of choice (we used Nuttzo) But a honey flavored peanut butter works great too!
- 1/2 cup plantain flour or coconut flour (to make grain free) But you can also use oat flour.
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- dash of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extra
- 1/3 cup honey or coconut sugar
- cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp egg white powder or 1 egg white liquid (for extra fluff and it is optional)
- 1/4 cup dried fruit and nut mix
Instructions
- preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine all your ingredients. Mix well. Pour batter into greased baking or brownie pan (9x9). Baking for 15 to 17 minutes. Check the center before removing. Should be clean when inserted with knife.
- Top with extra coconut and honey peanut frosting if desired. See recipe below or in notes for frosting recipe.
Notes
peanut frosting - OPTIONAL
The optional frosting is quite simple. Just place 2 tbsp peanut flour in a zip lock bag with 1/4 to 1/3 cup honey. Mix and squeeze the bag until blended.
Then cut the corner of the bag (just a little snip) and squeeze over the blondies like below.
The optional frosting is quite simple. Just place 2 tbsp peanut flour in a zip lock bag with 1/4 to 1/3 cup honey. Mix and squeeze the bag until blended.
Then cut the corner of the bag (just a little snip) and squeeze over the blondies like below.
See, homemade frosting! You can use a vanilla protein powder if your don’t have peanut flour but it might be a little gritty.
Well, that’s it for FUEL week! I hope you like this last recipe, which of course I saved for last because it’s one of my FAVORITE! And let me know if you try any of this weeks recipes, ok?
What recipes do you make gluten free or grain free? You know I am up for making more!
Easy #grainfree Trail Mix Blondies with Peanut Butter Frosting! Get snacking! #fitfluential
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Cheers to FUEL FRIDAY!
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