Today I was picking up 2 items in Whole Foods.  2 items because…lets be honest here…who the heck can actually afford to grab ALL of their groceries at Whole Foods?  I go there specifically for 2 items, this amazing dishsoap/household cleaner from a company in Burnaby, BC called Sapadilla and the other item I buy regularly at whole foods is this vegan basil pesto that is pretty tasty.  I love adding that stuff to dishes in the off season when there isn’t basil a plenty floating around.

While shopping today they had a little table set up and they were giving away samples of what looked like a mini version of a lion bar (aka lara bar) just seeds, fruit and nuts and they had 3 different kinds.  I am not one to ever pass up a sample so I sauntered over and It looked like it was a start up Gluten Free foods company.  The woman at the table was lovely so I tried the peanut butter chocolate and the superfood seed & hemp heart bar.  They were both pretty tasty so I asked where they were located in the store and when I went to the section I almost died because they were selling 6 mini bars for $11.99!  Did you read that???  $11.99??  WHAT THE WHAT???  I almost shut down my website immediately and went on a hunt for a patent and trademark because I am clearly in the wrong business!!  I could be making heaps I thought.  Seriously do people really spend that kind of money on 6 little snacks??  Damn.  Who are these people and why oh why don’t they share their play money with me??? Well, lucky for all of you…my momma taught me how to share so i’m going to keep posting my recipes because no one needs to pay that much money for a healthy snack!!

I made up another delicious flavour of lion bar today and seriously the entire batch cost a fraction of what they were being sold for at Whole Foods and it was double the size of the ones they were selling in the store.  Now to be fair, I do tend to buy a lot of nuts, seeds and dried fruit in bulk so I do have them on hand a lot because I make a batch of lion bars every week.   This flavour inspiration came to me while waiting for husband to finish his race in the muddy vancouver trails.  Today I bring you…the Trail Mix Lion Bar!!  Something with all the goodness of a lion bar but with a little something extra for texture and a lil bit of crunch.

By now you folks are used to my lion bars so I will keep this short.  In a food processor, pulse your nuts to a fine nut powder, then add your dates and dried cherries to the mix

Food processor action

Next add your coconut, raisins and sunflower seeds.  Pulse in food processor until the mixture clumps together and starts to jump around in the bowl.  Have your raw pumpkin seeds ready and a few extra raisins ready on the side.  Pour the seeds and raisins in to the processor bowl and then take the clumpy mixture out.  This way you will have some of the seeds and raisins in the mixture and then you can take all those little stragglers sitting at the bottom on the bowl and press them in to the mixture when it was evenly spread out.

All mixed up and adding some pumpkin seeds and raisins for some additional texture

Use a roller or a cup to even it out a bit.  Place in the fridge for a few hours and then they will be easier to cut.  I normally make about 8 bars out of this batch .

What they look like rolled out

Voila, here you have it!! YUM!!

Trail Mix Lion Bars

Trail Mix Lion Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup or 11 medjool dates (pits removed)
• 1/3 cup of dried sour cherries
• 1/4 cup dried coconut
• 1/3 cup raisins (and a bit more for the top)
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. First pulse nuts in the food processor until they are a course powder like consistency and fully chopped
2. Next pulse cherries and dates until mixture is completely mixed together.
3. Add everything else except the pumpkin seeds and a small amount of raisins.  The mixture will be done when it starts to jump around in the food processor
4. Take mixture out and press in to a square pan until its evened out.  Press pumpkin seeds and raisins in to the mixture.
5. Use a roller to smooth it out, then refrigerate for a few hours until you are ready to cut them in to bars.
6. This makes 8 large bars.  You can wrap them in plastic wrap and store in the fridge and they should be good for at least 2 weeks.

Hope you enjoy this latest version of the lion bar.  It’s got a bit more texture to it and adds a bit of crunch to the chewiness.  Stay tuned for more delicious flavours fine people…after all the holidays are fast approaching!!  Yup, that means i am already brainstorming more seasonal flavours!!!!  YUM!!