70 5540

Fruit and Seed Bars

June 7, 2010

Food allergies are a serious problem in this country -- nuts being a particular culprit. Most schools in our area (and many around the country) have banned nuts all together, regardless of whether or not the kids are known to have nut allergies. Thankfully, safety measures like those or having designated nut-free areas in school cafeterias help protect the ever increasing number of America's allergic children, but it can make life difficult for busy moms who rely on protein-filled snacks for their kids that are made with nuts. I can't imagine how challenging it must be for parents who deal everyday with food allergies, so I've been spending a lot of time developing recipes which use protein and nutrient-rich seeds as an alternative to nuts.

I think these bars deliver the goods: sunflower seeds are packed with protein and Vitamin E, pumpkin seeds with magnesium, and flax seeds with an off the charts amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Add in all of the other healthful ingredients in this recipe, and these fruit and seed bars are just as sweet, crunchy, healthy, and delicious as any nut-filled protein bar you'll find in stores. Even if you or your kids don't have a food allergy, try making a batch of these bars. My guys can't seem to get enough of them. And, it's a treat that most schools will be happy to welcome.

Like this post Comment on this post

Fruit and Seed Bars  (Makes 20 Bars)

  • Prep Time:2 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes,
  • Total Time: 30 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas)
  • 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 2 tablespoons flax seeds
  • 1 cup dried fruit (blueberries, raisins, currants, cranberries and/or cherries)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup sunflower butter

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. 2. In a food processor, pulse the first 6 ingredients until finely chopped (it’s ok if there are few coarsely chopped pieces).
  3. 3. Add the honey and sunflower and pulse until starting to combine.
  4. 4. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 9 inch pan, greased then line with parchment and press down into the pan until completely even.
  5. 4. Bake for 25 minutes.
  6. 5. Let the bars completely cool before cutting with a serrated knife into bars.
  7. 6. Serve.
  8. *Cool, place in Ziploc bags, label and freeze. Defrost to room temperature and enjoy!
+ Recipe Box + Print 70

Related Recipes

Comments






1 2

  1. Kristina

    May 7, 2013 at 3:24 pm

    Reply

    We loved these but, it would be helpful to tell the reader to grease and line the pan earlier in the instructions, prior to giving the instruction to pour the ingredients in….didn’t make a huge difference but the first batch would have been prettier!

    Looking forward to your lunch book this summer!

    K

  2. maurine

    April 13, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    Reply

    Wow…I actually logged on to email you and see of you could make these! My son had a bar from The Good Bean company and he loved it. Wobderif you could use roasted chickpeaa in this the way they did?

  3. cheryl

    December 2, 2012 at 7:07 pm

    Reply

    sdf

  4. Laura

    September 3, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    Reply

    These are absolutely delish. Thank you for another great recipe for the entire family.

  5. Pingback: Quick, Healthy Back-to-School Food Ideas & Tips for Moms | genConnect

  6. Linda

    August 13, 2012 at 10:58 am

    Reply

    I think I will try these with tahini instead of sunflower seed butter. I always have tahini. Anybody try that sub yet? Wondering if it will mess up the flavor, tahini is strong. Thanks for the recipe. I was looking to make my own Kind bars…. those are expensive!

  7. Rainey Daye

    August 9, 2012 at 10:42 am

    Reply

    What can be used in place of the honey? Cause we have peanut and honey allergies here.

    • catherine

      August 9, 2012 at 11:33 am

      Reply

      You could use agave or brown rice syrup!

  8. Katie

    June 11, 2012 at 7:22 pm

    Reply

    Thanks so much for the info! Like everyone almost who visits your site, my family and I love almost all of your recipes! You are genius! Bless you for sharing!

  9. catherine

    June 11, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    Reply

    For most people it just has to do with allergies. For my family we always have peanut and almond butter in the house, as well as often having sunflower butter and making our own pumpkin seed butter! I use a variety of nut and seed butters because they have different flavors! :)

  10. Katie

    June 11, 2012 at 4:31 pm

    Reply

    Question since so many of you are so knowledgeable. When I was doing my own research on nuts, I found that peanuts are actually pretty darn high in protein, even higher than almonds. I do on occasion get almond butter, but I have been reassured that with no allergies in this house, I won’t be replacing my peanut butter. Is there some other reason except allergies that everyone has made the switch? Do it have to do with mono or polysaturated fats maybe?

  11. catherine

    June 8, 2012 at 11:48 am

    Reply

    That will depend on your blender. The ingredients could get stuck under the blade, or near it and it wouldn’t chop up everything on top. You could try doing it in batches! You said you have a handheld blender. Do you mean a stick or immersion blender? I think that would work well to get the seeds and fruit all chopped up, and then maybe mix in the honey by hand. I hope it works!

  12. Lorelei

    June 7, 2012 at 1:11 pm

    Reply

    Since I don’t have a food processor, would it be crazy to try this with my blender? I have a stand up blender and a hand held.

  13. Pingback: garden of life raw protein

  14. Gary

    February 20, 2012 at 9:51 am

    Reply

    yes.. the bars were so delicious!

    But after baking and cooling them down completely, the bars were crumbly while cutting.. I used a glass baking dish for baking. And I’m wondering if that needed extra baking time than what’s mentioned?
    I will try in a metal pan next time and see if that holds up the bars any better.

    • catherine

      February 20, 2012 at 5:35 pm

      Reply

      Yes, usually with glass you need to extend the baking time by anywhere from 5-10 minutes!

  15. Jen

    January 28, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    Reply

    These bars were absolutely delicious! I substituted peanut butter for the sunflower butter and slivered almonds for the flax seeds. Also, I only had an 8×8 pan so I needed to bake them a bit longer. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! The variations are endless.

  16. Pingback: Mineral Powder Foundation For Acne | My Cosmetics Choice

  17. lezlie

    October 9, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    Reply

    Yum! No coconut for me & used almond butter instead of sunflower butter. After food processed dry stuff I mixed in the honey & butter with my hands. Turned out great, not much breaking apart as I cut it with a large pizza cutter. Kids loved them too!

  18. lezlie

    October 9, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    Reply

    Yum! No coconut for me & used almond butter instead of sunflower butter. After food processed dry stuff I mixed in the honey & butter with my hands. Turned out great, not much breaking apart as I cut it with a large pizza cutter.

  19. M

    October 2, 2011 at 12:38 am

    Reply

    Are these suppose to be soft or crunchy? I cooked mine longer then you said and they still seemed soft (maybe undercooked). Should I try cooking them longer or at a higher temperature to make them crunchy?
    The flavors are wonderful. Thanks for all the great recipes. My toddler loves making them with me.

  20. Amanda

    September 14, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    Reply

    Where do you find dried fruit,pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and coconut that are NOT processed on the same equipment as tree nuts? My daughter is allergic to tree nuts and I have a hard time finding dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and flake coconut that she can have. these sound great!!!

    • Geeta

      September 26, 2011 at 3:02 am

      Reply

      I find several of these products at Whole Foods, Peanut Free Planet (website), and sometimes I find the Enjoy Life brand of nut free trail mix at my local Vons. Once I find brands that work for us, I can sometimes order them cheaper from online sellers. Good luck. It’s tough finding safe foods for our kids, but they are out there!

  21. Sunily

    August 14, 2011 at 3:40 pm

    Reply

    Seed and fruit bars!

  22. Melanie

    July 24, 2011 at 1:29 pm

    Reply

    Once again an amazing recipe! I made these this morning so that I would have a quick go-to for between meal snacks. I used peanut butter, dried apricots, dried blueberries and raises. They are rich and filling! Thank you!

  23. Kirsten C.

    October 8, 2010 at 10:17 pm

    Reply

    I actually heated the honey and sunflower butter together in a pot on the stove until it was soft and well-combined, then added it to the other ingredients. I was concerned it wouldn’t combine easily so I put it all into a mixing bowl (after pulsing the seeds, oats, dried fruit) and got my bare hands in there to mix it all up. It worked great and was a great stress relief at the same time! The bars turned out great but I immediately thought I’ll try them with mini dairy-free chocolate chips next time. A bit of candied ginger would be good too if you don’t mind a teeny amount of added sugar.

    • Kirsten C.

      October 8, 2010 at 10:53 pm

      Reply

      Oh yeah…and I toasted the seeds first too! Added a really nice flavour to the bars. Delicious!

  24. Megan

    October 6, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    Reply

    Hi there, I absolutely love these bars, thanks so much for the recipe. I posted about them on my blog, I hope you don’t mind. I’ve linked it back to your site of course.
    http://megans-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/10/fruit-and-seed-bars.html

  25. Kimberly

    September 5, 2010 at 5:45 pm

    Reply

    I just made these and had the same problem with them falling apart. I think the recipe has an error. In #3 you say the honey and sunflower mixture – when do you mix it and how – in a bowl or heat in on the stove like you do in your granola balls? The parts that had the butter/honey were stuck together but the parts that weren’t mixed well didn’t. Am I missing something here? Thanks.

    • catherine

      September 7, 2010 at 1:06 pm

      Reply

      Sorry for the confusion, did not mean to say mixture. You really need to pulse all the ingredients so they are chopped fine, then you add the honey and sunflower evenly throughout the ingredients and keep pulsing until it comes together ( you may have to open the lid and with a spatula scrape down the sides and keep pulsing again) The mixture will eventually come together – you have to be patient so you can allow the dry ingredients to soak in the honey and butter. When it is done cooling, cut them in with a serrated knife and serve :)

1 2


Manage your shopping list and search for recipes from across the web at ZipList.com

Sign Up for Free Daily Recipes