Paleo Chocolate Nut Bars

When we adopted the paleo lifestyle, I had to bid farewell to my beloved breakfast of Mini-Wheats and 2% milk. Could there be a less paleo breakfast than that? Closing this chapter of my life was no easy task, people! I've been in love with Mini-Wheats since I could eat solid foods! I had no idea what I was going to eat. Traditional granola bars were off the list. Yogurt is loaded with refined sugars and is dairy (although I break the rules on dairy where homemade kefir is concerned. More on that later...) Bacon and eggs are awesome but are too heavy for me to eat daily. Most days I prefer a quick, easy, and light breakfast. 

That proverb about necessity being the mother of invention rings true on this primal food journey. I had to come up with something grain and dairy free for breakfast. It needed to be portable for travel to the non-paleo realms of our grain-lovin' world. It had to contain lots of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It had to be sweet, but not ridiculously so. The end result had to have chocolate in it. Lots of chocolate. Mmmmm...chocolate. 

After many failed attempts, I mastered the creation of these heavenly bars of chocolatey goodness. My paleo chocolate nut bars contain coconut, dates, tree nuts, almond butter, coconut oil, honey, chocolate, various seeds, vanilla, and salt.

I start off by melting unsweetened baking chocolate, coconut oil, almond butter, and honey (or maple syrup) over low heat. 

While the chocolate mixture is melting, I start processing the dates, nuts, and seeds. I don't bother putting the shredded coconut into the processor because it is already so finely shredded, unlike sweetened coconut flakes. If you decide to use the flaked variety, you may want to process your coconut with your nuts and dates. 

Printable Recipe

Paleo Chocolate Nut Bars

Yields 24 bars

Ingredients

• 8 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, broken into chunks
• ½ cup extra virgin coconut oil
• ¼ cup almond butter
• ½ cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 cups tree nuts (I like to use a mixture of almonds, pecans, and cashews)
• 8 oz chopped dates 
• 1/3 cup flax seeds
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325° F, and grease a 13"x 9" baking dish.
2. In a medium-sized sauce pan over medium-low heat, combine the chocolate, oil, almond butter, and honey, stirring occasionally. 
3. While chocolate mixture is melting, place nuts, dates, and seeds in a food processor.* Process until nuts are thoroughly chopped and the mixture looks homogeneous.
4. Remove the chocolate mixture from heat once chocolate is melted, and add vanilla, mixing well. 
5. In a large bowl, combine the coconut with the nut, date, and seed mixture. Add salt, and mix well. 
6. Add chocolate mixture to dry ingredients in the bowl, and mix thoroughly.
7. Pour mixture into baking dish, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before cutting into bars. Store bars in the refrigerator.

*You can simply purchase finely chopped nuts if you do not have a food processor or other means of chopping whole nut pieces.

There is room for variety with this recipe, provided the solid and liquid proportions remain about the same. I've gotten too liberal with the coconut and nuts, only to have a crumbly bar that won't stay together. I've overdone the liquids and had bars that would not remain solid at room temperature. Of course, storing them in the refrigerator solves this problem for the most part, unless you intend to travel with them. You might want to try one of the following variations:

• add 1½ tsp cinnamon
• substitute 1 Tbsp almond extract for the vanilla extract.
• substitute chia or sesame seeds for the flax or sunflower seeds
• substitute raisins, figs, prunes, or dried cranberries for dates