Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Healthy Sunflower-Hemp Seed Granola Bites – A Great Afternoon Snack for Mamma (gluten free, dairy free, cane-sugar free)

One of my favorite sweet recipes on my blog is the SCD “caramel” sauce.  It has a wonderful deep flavor, so creamy and (in my opinion) very rich.  I use this sauce as the base in my SCD “granola” bars.  The sauce works great, as it really holds everything together quite nicely.  I figured this sauce would also work great with oats, and it sure did.  Last month I made Shirley’s granola cookie bites.  She inspired me with these little morsels. I like how she made bites instead of bars.  Bars can be hard to form sometimes and often don’t stay together.  And it all tastes the same, so why not make it easy.  So I gathered some of my favorite dry ingredients and added it to the caramel sauce and voila, healthy little granola bites were born.  My husband is addicted to these.  My kids love them too.  They are almost too sweet for me, but I have a very low tolerance to sweet, so I prefer these with cranberries instead of chocolate chips.  These are the perfect mid-afternoon snack for us mommies (you know, around that 3:30 time when the tummy starts rumbling for a little something).   The ingredients are simple and healthy.  I hope you’ll give these little granola bites a try.  They will satisfy mommies…and kids alike.

Healthy Sunflower-Hemp Seed Granola Bites - A Great Afternoon Snack for Mamma (gluten free, dairy free, cane-sugar free)
 
Author:
Recipe type: Snacks, Desserts
Ingredients
  • 4 ounces seeded Medjool dates (7 dates), soaked for 3 hours*
  • 3 tablespoons honey (vegans, maple syrup is a great sub here)
  • 3 tablespoons cashew butter
  • 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
  • ¼ cup full fat canned coconut milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups gluten free oats
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
  • -1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or dried cranberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. To a food processor, add soaked and drained dates, honey, cashew butter, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt. Blend for 90 seconds. While the food processor is running, drizzle in the coconut milk. Blend until everything is well incorporated.
  3. In a bowl, add the oats, chocolate chips, sunflower, hemp, and chia seeds. Mix.
  4. Add the wet ingredients from the food processor to the dry ingredients. Mix well and let sit for 5 minutes.
  5. With a spring scoop, make little balls and place on a baking sheet with a non-stick surface. Make sure to really pack the mixture in the scoop. Use your hands if necessary. Get a little dirty. It's fun.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes then transfer the bites to a cooling rack.
  7. Makes 24 granola bites. I recommend making two batches at a time. Enjoy.
Notes
*I've made these using soaked and dehydrated oats and sunflower seeds. They are equally tasty. The color is more gray-ish and the texture is softer.
*Please soak dates for the time recommended. I cannot guarantee the same results if the soaking time is not as noted in directions.

 

Shared on: Melt in your Mouth MondaysMotivate Me MondaysMealtime Monday,  My Meatless Monday, On The Menu Monday, Mix It Up MondaySlightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend, Whole Food Friday Fresh Bites Friday, Show  Off Friday, 
Print Friendly
Posted by Amber at

Labels: allergy-friendly, cane sugar free, cookies, dairy free, dessert, gluten free, snacks.

23 Comments

Leave a Reply to Not Missing a Thing! Allergy Friendly Cooking Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe: