Aronia Berry Granola Bars

ARONIA BERRY GRANOLA BARS

Last April we included this recipe in our newsletter, and we are still loving it! Especially with school starting back up these are the perfect on the go snack that are packed full with nutrition. Even better these tasty treats don't take a whole lot of time to whip up! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1 Cup Dried Aronia berries
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2/3 cup roasted, unsalted almonds
• 1 cup dried, pitted dates

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 325 Degrees F.
• Whisk together the honey, cinnamon, & vanilla in a larger bowl. Stir in the oats and mix until evenly coated.
• Toast sunflower seeds in a dry pan on medium heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, pulse the almonds and dates in a food processor until coarsely chopped. 
• Add the toasted sunflower seeds and chopped almonds and dates to the oat mixture; mix well. The color of the mixture should be more of a purple hue.
• Press the mixture into an 8X8 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, then place in the freezer until firm. After about an hour, cut into bars and enjoy!

Note: Store in airtight container up to 1 week. 

Fruity Healthy Salsa (Super Kid Friendly!)

Salsa is a great afternoon snack as the summer starts to wind down. 

At the beginning of this month we talked about foods that promote healthy eyes in children. We all know how hard it can be to get kids to eat foods, but who could resist this delicious looking fruity salsa! We are sure your kids will enjoy! 

This salsa is bright and colorful and includes yummy things like bell peppers, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. These are excellent sources of Vitamin A and C, as well as carotenoids which are the compounds that give some fruits + veggies their yellow, orange, and red pigments, these are also thought to help decrease the risk of many eye disease. 

Your kids will love this fruity combination of tomatoes, cantaloupe, apples, and a hint of lime. If you want to tone down the heat, use just one seeded jalapeno or none at all. Packed with lycopene from the tomato, vitamins A and C from the melon, and fiber from the apple, this healthy and delicious snack is a big winner.

Best of all if you decide to make this as a "grown" up snack you can adjust the heat of the salsa by adding more jalapeno. 

Men's Health Awareness Low Carb Salted Caramel Almond Brittle

Low Carb Salted Caramel Almond Brittle

This recipe for Low Carb Salted Caramel Almond Brittle is quick and easy to make. Just 5 ingredients. A low carb treat bargain at 3.8 carbs per serving.

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup Swerve sweetener
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛-1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Line a 9" x 9" cake pan or 9" pie pan with baking parchment.
2. Pour swerve, butter, vanilla and ¼ tsp. salt into a small 8" non-stick skillet.
3. Heat over medium heat till all ingredients are dissolved.
4. Add the almonds to the candy mixture.
5. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil.
6. Allow to boil 2-3 minutes till it becomes a light golden brown. Remove from heat.
7. Carefully pour it into prepared pan. (It is very hot!)
8. With back of spoon, spread almonds evenly through hot candy.
9. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if using.
10. Allow to set 1 hour or until completely cooled. ( you can finish cooling it in the refrigerator, if you wish.)
11. Break into pieces and divide into a 8 servings.
12. Will stay crisp and keep well in a tightly sealed container for 2 weeks.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: ⅛th recipe Calories: 205 Fat: 20.4 Saturated fat: 8. Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 3.8 Sugar: .8 Fiber: 2.2Protein: 3.9

Health Awareness Chewy Raspberry Apple Granola Bars

Raspberries are amazing little things....

When our berries start coming on you can always find us sneaking off to the field to graze for a bit. You can tell we are working REALLY hard around here! All joking aside raspberries are a power house of benefits for our bodies. Generally speaking raspberries are a great brain food, support hearth health, can provide cancer prevention, diabetes management, are a detox and help with disease prevention, and they help your eyes. 

For more information about raspberries check out these links:

What are the health benefits of raspberries?
What's New and Beneficial About Raspberries
Benefits of Raspberries

We found this recipe and gave it a our own twist, we hope you all enjoy! 

Chewy Raspberry Apple Granola Bars 

Inspired from Amy's Healthy Baking

Ingredients:

1 tsp coconut oil, melted

½ c unsweetened applesauce, room temperature

1/3 c skim milk

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 ½ c old-fashioned oats

1 c fresh or frozen SVO raspberries, diced

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oil and applesauce until smooth. Mix in the milk, honey and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Stir in the oats until evenly coated with the applesauce mixture. Gently fold in the raspberries.
3. Press the oat mixture into the prepared pan, and bake at 350°F for 16-19 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing into 10 bars.

Notes: 

*For a vegan version, substitute your favorite non-dairy milk and agave in place of the honey. 

*It’s important for the applesauce to be at room temperature to prevent the melted coconut oil from re-solidifying. 

*For best storage results, tightly wrap each individual bar in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

*For the sweet tooth's out there, we also tried melting our favorite organic chocolate and drizzling on top, think like a chewy bar, and the results were YUM! (1 cup worked best for us!)