Seedy Power Bars

This past week, I have been trying to figure out what else I might want to make with the "Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk" (made with Swerve) I had leftover from making last weekend's "Absolutely Magical Cookie Bars".  I had 1-1/2 cups of the condensed milk left to make something else with.  Late last night...we are talking 11:00 pm (nuts...huh???), I decided to make "Seedy Power Bars".  On one of my adventures to Whole Foods a couple months ago, I purchased all kinds of raw seeds to make something with.  So, last night I put them to good use!  It was a concoction of raw seeds and a little dark chocolate, blueberries, coconut, roasted almonds and sunflower seeds. Now, these are not granola bars...because they are predominantly made of seeds.  I used the condensed coconut milk as the glue to hold them all together.  They turned out good.  I must say, that even though I knew exactly what was in them -- I still was expecting them to be like chewy granola bars when I first bit into them since they sort of looked like granola type bars...LOL.  I wasn't trying to achieve that...but old habits die young I guess.  I made a 9x13" pan of them -- which is a LOT since I cut them into small bars.  I cut them into 24 little power bars.  Each bar has about 3 grams of sugar and 5 grams of net carbs (I rounded up to be safe).  I purposely baked them at a low temp so I wouldn't roast the seeds too much -- I was going for more of a raw type finish...but I bet they'd also be really tasty (and crunchier, too) if the seeds were lightly toasted before mixing and baking.  It was a very heavy pan of bars with all those dense seeds.  I may try making half a batch next time using lightly roasted/toasted seeds to compare the difference.  Below are a few pictures as well as the simple recipe I put together.  Enjoy!

Seedy Power Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup raw shelled hemp seeds
1 cup raw shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup roasted sunflower seeds (kernels)
1 cup roasted almonds
1 cup unsweetened coconut chips (shaved dry coconut)
1/2 cup ground golden flax
1/2 cup unsweetened dried blueberries (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 (3.5 ounce) 70% cacao chocolate bar, chopped (I used Green & Black's)
1-1/2 cups Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk, slightly warmed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  In a large bowl, place all ingredients and stir until everything is well coated (taste for sweetness and add additional sweetener, if necessary or desired).  Press evenly, using a rubber spatula, into a lightly greased nonstick 9 x 13" baking pan.  Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour.  If you prefer your bars lightly browned, increase the baking time a bit.  Let cool about 20 minutes.  Cut into bars while still in pan and allow to cool completely.  Cover and refrigerate to keep firm and fresh.

**Note:  This recipe uses about 6 cups of "nuts/seeds/fruits/etc." mixed with 1-1/2 cups of Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk.  You can easily substitute or replace any of the power bar's ingredients if you don't like them or have them available -- just mix together about the same amount of your favorite ingredients.  To make a half batch using an 8 x 8" pan, use 3 cups of mixed seeds, nuts, etc. mixed with 3/4 cup of the Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk.