Pumpkin Nut Spice Bars

Life through food coloured glasses

You know I love a good food challenge and so with my mums new diet (grain and sugar free) I began brainstorming breakfast ideas. I created the following recipe and it's a great tasting breakfast. Don't get me wrong it's not sweet but it is super flavoursome. I kept going back for more as I couldn't believe I didn't sweeten it with anything. Mum can't eat any sugars including fruits. So the pumpkin, coconut, nuts and cinnamon really shine through. if you would like to add a sweetener I'm sure a few tablespoons of maple syrup or honey would not go astray. If you are wandering about the texture it's crunchy on the top and a cake/slice consistency in the centre.

Makes 24 squares

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 45 mins

Paleo, gluten free, dairy free, grain free, sugar free

Based on the recipe by Fork Knife Swoon

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of quinoa flakes

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon of chia seeds

1 cup of roughly chopped nuts (I used walnuts, brazil and almonds)

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup puréed pumpkin (I roasted mine for extra flavour)

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius.
Combine quinoa flakes, coconut, seeds, nuts, spices and salt in a medium bowl.
Stir in the pumpkin, oil and vanilla until well combined.
Line a square baking tray with baking paper and press your mixture firmly into the tin ensuring it's evenly distributed.
Cook at 160 for 35-45 minutes or until nice and golden on top.
Allow to cool on the bench before cutting into your squares.

So eat them as bars or crumble them on some yoghurt and you have two breakies in one.

I was also thinking you could also try these with sweet potato or banana instead of pumpkin. This really is a versatile recipe so you really can add your favourite nuts or dried fruits if you so desire.

Happy cooking everyone.