Yummy Healthy Barks

The sweet pleasing aroma of the maple syrup coming from the oven filled the kitchen. I could hear the sizzling and crackling sound of the nuts and seeds dancing with the maple syrup. There was still 20 minutes left in the baking, but I could not resist myself to see how this recipe is turning out.

The sound of the sweet, nutty, nutritious bar sounded like music to my ears. As moms, we try very hard to make sure that our kids eat healthy food. However, the trick to creating any nutritious food is to make them very appealing.

We moms tend to run in all directions that point out nourishing and wholesome food. Well, fear not moms, I want to share a super duper hit recipe of my sister-in-laws, Palak Savani. She is a vegan food blogger. Check out her Instagram page palak.savani for more healthy vegan recipes.

This recipe is very easy, nutritious and quick to make. More importantly, it had my kids approval on this recipe!

Materials:

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts
• 1/2 cup pepita seeds
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 1/4 cup dried blueberries (or cranberries)
• 1/2 cup rice crisps
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Cinnamon sugar (for dusting)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Line a square baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Mix in all the ingredients in a bowl. Pour the maple syrup with the ingredients and mix thoroughly till everything is coated with the syrup.
4. Use a rubber spatula to transfer the ingredients to the pan. Create a thin layer, making sure there is no gap in the layer and it is tightly packed.
5. Bake for 35 minutes.
6. Once baked, take it out and dust it with cinnamon sugar.
7. Allow the bark to cool for at least an hour.
8. Break the bark in to desired pieces and store in an air tight container.

This is a very easy, yet healthy recipe since kids are getting all the nuts and food that benefit their growing brain. It makes a great snack for kids especially before an activity. Since they do not need to be refrigerated, they are good for traveling also.

You can also be creative and add or take out any other food that you would like to the bark. Since they are delicious, kids will not even realize they are devouring down healthy food.

Feel free to share any other delicious yet healthy recipe.