My Favourite Power Bar -- SsssssssssuperFoods SuperPower SuperBar

I feel like I'm eating big chunks of candy when I eat this. It's kind of spicy and fragrant, redolent of vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, with the taste of chocolate and berries tying it together. Not that it would float your boat if what you really want is some Callebaut or a corner store chocolate bar. But for me this is it. It satisfies, is a big chewy mouthful, and tastes great. This is chewier than the other power bars I've posted, and certainly will appeal to a different audience because of this.


ingredients:

2 cups pitted dates (or 1 cup unsulphured apricots and 1 cup dates or 1 cup apricots, 1/2 cup dates and 1/2 cup organic raisins ... etc. You get the picture. Any dried fruit you have (organic and unsulphured) that has dried out a bit too much to be enjoyable to eat can be salvaged in this recipe, too.)
1 cup raw almonds
4 tbsp coconut butter
1/4 cup flax meal

1 tbsp acai
2 tbsp pure green barley powder
2 tbsp maca powder
1 tbsp mesquite
2 tbsp hemp protein powder
2 tbsp raw cacao (or 4 tbsp raw cacao for true chocolate lovers)

1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tsp ginger for more zing)
1/2 tsp ground vanilla

1/2 cup raw pistachios
1/4 cup raw goji berries


directions:

1. in a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are finely milled
2. add the dates, and pulse until all is pureed together
3. add the coconut butter and pulse
4. add the flax, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla, and pulse
5. add the acai, barley, maca, cacao, mesquite, and hemp, and pulse until thoroughly combined
6. add pistachios, and pulse until finely chopped
7. add the goji berries, and pulse until finely chopped
8. when the mixture is combined well and sticking together well, press it into a square glass pan, smooth the top with your hands, and put it into the refrigerator.
9. when it is thoroughly chilled and firm, cut into bars, squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, stars, rhomboids, trapezoids, hexagons, or octogons. Do not attempt a dodecahedron. Leave that to the professionals.
10. share with your friends, especially Zoe and Su. They really like them.

**note: if your mixture seems too crumbly, you can try adding a little extra coconut butter, or a tbsp or 2 of coconut oil. Or both ;)

update: Just for fun, I added a quarter cup of finely ground chia seeds and a quarter cup of extra virgin coconut oil


variation february 11: 1/4 cup hemp powder instead of 2 tbsp, 1/4 cup ground chia, 1/4 cup coconut oil, a little extra coconut butter, 1/2 cup goji berries instead of 1/4 cup, and 1/4 cup pistachios instead of 1/2 cup. :) (and 1/4 cup raw cacao instead of 2 tbsp, as usual)