We had early Thanksgiving yesterday at Donny’s parents house. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, rolls, stuffing…. phew I am full just thinking about all the food! Not only that, but Peggy made lemon meringue pie, pecan pie, and his grandma made pumpkin bars. It was delicious!
Donny’s brother Andy and his wife Kasie made it down from the Front Range with their beautiful 7-month-old daughter, Gemma. She is such a doll! She randomly bobs her head around and legitimately looks like a bobblehead! Hahaha it is adorable.
We have an early Thanksgiving every year because Donny’s parents head out to Tennessee to see Donny’s sister and her family. They leave the weekend before Thanksgiving and stay the week. We were able to go last year and spend a few days out there. It was a lot of fun. I hope we can make it every couple years or so.
So these Nut & Seed Bars are basically a combination of every single nut or seed in our pantry in a bar-form. I basically threw a bunch in a bowl and covered them with brown rice syrup and almond butter. Easy peasy. No baking required.
The great part about these bars is that they are very customizable. You can substitute any nuts or seeds you would like, depending on taste preferences or simply based on what you have on hand. Make equal substitutions (example: 1/4 cup walnuts subbed for 1/4 cup pecans) so that the wet-to-dry ratio stays the same, but if you want to add more cashews and skip the pecans, then go for it!
Some other options for the bars would be to add almonds, chia seed, walnuts, hazelnuts, raisins, dried cherries, etc. I contemplated adding chia to the bars, but in the end decided not to. If you try this recipe and add the chia then let me know how it goes!
If you like taking granola bars for snacks then check out my Coconut-Cashew Granola Bars recipe (these do require baking).
- 3/4 c cashews, chopped
- 1/4 c pepitas
- 1/4 c pecans
- 1/4 c unsweetened coconut, shredded
- 2 Tbsp flax seed
- 1/2 c dried cranberries
- 1/3 c organic brown rice syrup
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil, unrefined
- 2 Tbsp almond butter
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Combine the first 6 items (through the cranberries) in large mixing bowl. Add the cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown rice syrup, coconut oil, and almond butter. Heat for two minutes stirring frequently.
- Pour the contents of the saucepan over the nut and seed mixture and stir until the very well combined. The brown rice syrup mixture should be evenly distributed.*
- Press evenly into a 8x8 pan. Allow to sit for 30-60 minutes. Cut into 9 square pieces.
- *This needs to be done very quickly so that the brown rice syrup says running and will evenly distribute throughout the nut and seed mixture.
- Store extra bars in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days.
What are your plans for Thanksgiving?
