Life Saver Paleo No Bake Chocolate Avocado Protein Energy Bar - this time with Pecans, Dates, Chia and Pumpkin Seeds

Paleo No Bake Chocolate Avocado Protein Bars all wrapped up and ready to go!

Energy bars to the rescue once again. At my last Naturopath visit she suggested I should be eating about 15 to 20 grams of protein within an hour of my workout. This is based on my size, time of day, intensity of workouts and blood sugar/adrenal problems. The amount might be different for everyone but protein is always a good idea for muscle recovery. I was most definitely not doing this which could explain some of my unpleasant mid-day moods. Most days I work out in the morning and I'm usually done about 10:00. Tricky thing is I usually go out to run errands after the gym so not really home to make a snack and not  a big fan of protein shakes unless they are in a nice frozen smoothie form. I was caught out and about the other day so had to buy a protein bar at the health store - expensive and YUCK.

So here I am making protein bars again and this time they saved me when I was out at the mall buying some jeans. I was trying to put off buying clothes because my weight keeps dropping and I don't want to invest in clothes in case I gain 10 or 20 pounds when I finish nursing (like last time). Unfortunately a very likely scenario as I had to buy jeans in a size I haven't worn since about grade 10. Please be the clean eating - please, please, please - not just the nursing. I know its vain but who wouldn't want to fit jeans they wore in high school after having three kids. But I should probably return a couple of pairs (yes I bought 3 pairs) and make do until my weight settles out somewhere one way or another. Anyway, I had these protein bars in the car on the way to the mall and I sailed right through lunch until I got home at 1:30 without any anger or hunger pains. Apparently Dr. M knows what she is talking about.

I make my protein/energy bars really low sugar but you could always add a bit of honey, more dates or more Stevia if you aren't trying to kick a sugar addiction to the curb. And remember this is just a base recipe. Avocado could be replaced with coconut oil or pumpkin puree. Pecans with another nut like walnuts or macadamia. And pumpkin seeds could be replaced with sunflower, flax or hemp. Just adjust to whatever you can find in your pantry.  I wrapped these up quickly with wax paper so they would be ready to go straight out of the freezer to my purse in the chaos that is our typical morning. Very handy and portable! I really liked this batch - its my favorite and I've done quite a few experiments now. Its not dessert but its chewy clean goodness with a bit of crunch. Yummo!

So chewy, soft and clean. These are really good for a low-sugar, wheat-free, low-carb snack. 

Paleo No Bake Chocolate Avocado Protein Energy Bar

by MamaChanty

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: None

Keywords: raw snack gluten-free low-carb paleo sugar-free Chia Seeds Avocado

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Ingredients (16 bars)

• 1 cup raw whole or chopped pecans
• 1 cup loosely packed dates, soaked for 1/2 hour in warm water to soften if hard/dry, chopped into fine pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 3 tbsp cacao nibs, optional - I like them for the crunch
• 1/4 cup black Chia seeds
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (I leave them whole but you can roughly chop them or throw them in with pecans if you want them chopped fine)
• 3 tbsp 100% organic cocoa powder
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 10 drops liquid Stevia (optional or to taste)
• 1 avocado, peeled and mashed

Instructions

Combine coconut, cacao nibs, Chia, pumpkin, cocoa, vanilla and Stevia in a bowl. Place pecans and chopped dates in food processor and pulse until they are like course sand/starts getting gummy.

Add the pecan/date mixture and mashed avocado to the coconut mixture.

Blend thoroughly. I did this by hand because my food processor is acting up but you could probably do it either way.

Press the mixture into an 8 x 8 baking dish lined with wax paper.

Refrigerate until chilled.

Take out of the fridge and slice - 1 made 16 pieces.

Keep chilled or frozen until ready to serve.

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I left the pumpkin seeds whole, with the crunch from the cacao nibs and the softness from the dates and avocado these have an awesome soft and chewy texture.