CACAO QUINOA PUFF BARS

I like to refer to these as the ‘healthier LCM bar’.

Growing up I was sooo jealous of the kids who got an LCM bar in their lunchbox daily – it wasn’t a luxury that I ever had. But fast forward about twenty years and knowing what I know now I probably wouldn’t have those same wishes.

But if I’m honest those bars really are delicious so I am determined to find a way to make them a little bit more nutritious so kiddies can enjoy them more frequently than less. When developing this recipe I started with quinoa puffs as the base (they had been sitting in my pantry for a few month), then I add some cacao to heated rice malt syrup and took it from there.

My version of the bars definitely don’t hold as well as a traditional LCM bar would, with this in mind I would recommend you eat them more or less straight from the fridge to avoid them falling apart. Aside from that they’ve scored 100/10 from everyone who has tried them.

Feel free to fix up the ingredients and substitute the goji berries for cranberries or sunflower seeds for cashews. I guess it all depends what you and your kids enjoy.

They should store up to 7 days in the fridge (if they last that long).

INGREDIENTS
2 cups quinoa puffs
1 cup cacao
4 tbsp rice malt syrup
1 tbsp maple syrup
¾ cup peanut oil
4 tbsp coconut butter
½ cup sultanas
½ cup goji berries
½ sunflower seeds

METHOD
1. Melt the coconut butter, rice malt syrup, peanut oil and cacao in a saucepan over a low heat until it forms a consistent liquid
2. Meanwhile pour the quinoa puffs into a mixing bowl, then pour the warm liquid over the quinoa puffs until they are all covered
3. Add the goji berries, sunflower seeds and sultanas and mix all together
4. Pour the mixture into a greased and/or lined cake tin and spread evenly
5. Chill in the freezer for approx. 4 hours before removing to cut into desired size pieces

Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge for up to 7 days