Almost-Raw, Green Bars

Editors Note:  Since first posting this recipe a few months ago, I have improved it by adding more coconut oil and less powdered greens. The recipe below now reflects the updated version. 

Recently, I posted a recipe for my version of Carmen's Muesli Bars. Today I'd like to share my version of those expensive, healthy "green" bars.

I made them for my recent trips away from home when I knew that eating nutritious foods would be difficult so it was nice to pack a healthy snack.

In some ways this recipe is similar to the muesli bars, but in addition to the rolled oats, unsweetened coconut, virgin coconut oil, raw honey, chia (or flax) seed,  I mix in almond butter and powdered greens. I like to use Vibrant Health's Field Of Greensbecause it doesn't contain herbs and vitamins, it's simply raw, organic, concentrated foods from broccoli sprouts, kale and other greens.

Since chocolate makes everything taste better, not to mention the health benefits of the dark kind, I added miniature, semi-sweet chocolate chips (ok, not too dark, but it's hard to find 70% dark chocolate miniature chips). I was happy to find a high-quality version in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods by Guittard.

I cut and wrap them individually and put them in the refrigerator where they seem to keep for several weeks. However, when I was on my trips and didn't refrigerate them, they tasted just as good one week later.

These are so good that even my daughter loves them and doesn't even question why they are green!

Almost-Raw, Green Bar Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Cups Roasted Rolled Oats
(if you prefer to soak and dry ahead of time to reduce phytic acid, check out how to soak your oats at The Nourishing Gourmet and then drain and dry in oven all day at 200 degrees.)
1 Cup Unsweetened Coconut (I prefer to lightly toast these for flavor)
1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
2/3 Cup Virgin Coconut Oil
1 Cup Almond Butter
2/3 Cup Raw Honey
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
1/4 cup Powdered Greens (ie.Vibrant Health's Field Of Greens)
3/4 Cup Chia Seed or Flaxseed (great source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids)
1 Cup Miniature Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Spread oats out on cookie sheet and roast in oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Keep checking on them until they are just starting to turn golden. If you want to also give the coconut a little toasting, add them to the cookie sheet with the oats. When they are done, set aside to cool.

In a bowl, use a mixer to combine the almond butter, honey, almond extract and soft coconut oil (if it is hard, you may want to first put it in a double boiler and just slightly warm it enough to soften it). Once these ingredients are completely combined add the oats and mix. Add the remaining ingredients and continue mixing until evenly combined.

Spread and press ingredients into a 9 x 13 inch pan--a brownie pan is better, but a cake pan is just fine.  Set in the refrigerator until firm for about an hour. Cut and serve.  Enjoy!

The Sun, Skin Cancer, SPF and Superfoods

The day after I found out the exciting news that I was pregnant with my son, I was delivered the blowing news that at 37 years old I had skin cancer. Granted, it wasn't melanoma. It was basal cell, the kind my dad and 95-year-old grandfather repeatedly get, but doesn't kill you. Hey, we are Irish with fair skin and I have my grandfather's red hair to boot. 

Anyway, I did spend lots of time in the sun the first 20 years of my life and had more burns than I could count to prove it so maybe it shouldn't have come as such a shock, but I was a bit young for the diagnosis. Even the doctors kept asking me if I had an immune problem. I felt pretty hopeless at the time, thinking that my skin would be all carved up by the time I was a grandmother.

So if you think I have sworn off the sun or slather on a sunblock with an SPF of 80, you'd be mistaken. Why? As most of you have heard by now, 20 minutes of sun exposure a day is good for you. It gives your body the vitamin D it needs to boost the body's immunity. The opposite is true if you have too much sun exposure, it will depress your immunity. 

Let's talk about the Sun Protection Factor, otherwise known as SPF, for a moment. Most people think the higher the better, right?  But did you know that an SPF of 2 cuts out 50% of UV exposure, while an SPF of 4 cuts out 75% and an SPF of 5 cuts out only 5% more? It's called the law of diminishing returns. And did you know that ingesting fish oil offers you an SPF of 2 and eating foods rich in polyphenols and other antioxidants from nutrient dense foods would boost that number even higher and possibly combine for synergy to add greater protection? According to Your Skin, Younger: New Science Secrets to Reverse the Effects of AGE,if you ate a dietary SPF of 4, you would reduce the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers--like mine--by half or more over the course of a lifetime. That's pretty good! 

While I can't go back and eat the way I should have when I was younger, you can bet that my children start the day with a teaspoon of cod liver oil and a blueberry smoothie mixed with some organic powdered "greens" before they go outside to play in the sun...and I do too.