Winter days & an Energy Bar recipe

It's winter here down under in Western Australia. We had a slow start to winter this year. It was only a couple of months ago in June that I was rejoicing that the rain, and winter, had finally arrived and I celebrated by bringing you a soup recipe - you can see it here if you missed it - Winter Warmers

Since then we have had a very wet July and the start of August has been much the same. We had a rain front cross the coast on Friday night, and another one is due on Sunday.  In winter many of us hibernate, so it feels good to get out when we have some sunshine, or to meet up with a friend in a cafe.  

Too cold to sit here on the waterfront.....

Or here outside the cafe.....

This is much better.... cosy inside and a delicious array of goodies in the cabinet where I met my friend at Benesse Cafe

We are blessed with LOTS of cafes in Bunbury where I live. And of course, we all have our favourites. I particularly love the ones that bake wholesome food on site.  This was at Natural Temptations

Where they were adding a little spring sunshine to the footpath on a winter's day......

But if you don't want to go out you can always cook a wholesome slice at home. I've borrowed this recipe for sugar free Energy Bars from the So Vegan blog. Packed with oats, seeds, nuts, and dried fruit, they are really delicious. I made it today.

 Here is the recipe with some of my own notes added in..... do you have problems adapting recipes? I am usually happy to give it a go...

Ingredients:
1 cup oats
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (I accidentally bought pepitas, but they were fine)
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats (I couldn't find any, so I substituted the same amount of plain flour which worked fine if you are not worried about gluten) (So Vegan recommends just using more oats or another grain) (another reader suggested spelt)
1/2 cup raisins (sultanas are fine)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup soft dried apricots (or you could use dates)
1/4 cup maple syrup (or you could use honey)
1/4 cup water 

Note:  Buckwheat Groats can be found in the kosher section of your supermarket, if you have one. They are called Kasha. It is not wheat but a berry. There is no gluten. 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Spread out the oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds evenly on the tray, then roast for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
3. Meanwhile, put the softened apricots, maple syrup and water in a blender and blend until completely smooth, then transfer to a mixing bowl. Note: I found that I needed to soften the apricots by cooking in the maple syrup and water first before I blended them)
4. Next, add the buckwheat groats, raisins and cranberries to the bowl.   
5. Remove the baking tray from the oven and leave to cool, but leave the oven switched on. After cooling, transfer the roasted oats, pumpkin seeds, and almonds to the large mixing bowl. Mix all together. The mixture needs to be sticky. (I added a little extra water)
6. Line a 7” x 7” square cake tin (I just used my usual 9 x 13" rectangle slice tin) with baking paper, then transfer the mixture into the tin. Smooth over the top using the back of a spoon, pushing down to make sure the mixture is compact. Make sure you push down as firmly as possible to prevent the bars from falling apart when you slice them into bars. (this is very important)
7. Place the baking tin in the oven for 20 minutes.
8. Remove the tin from the oven and leave the energy bars to cool completely. Note: the energy bars might crumble if you try to slice them before they have cooled completely.
9. Cut into bars 

So there you have it. Delicious! Do you have a favorite nutritious easy make slice? 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

You might also like: 
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June capers - Gingernut biscuits 
 
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