These bars. Man – they saved me when I peaked into the fridge to see what dessert I could serve my boys one afternoon, and realized there wasn’t one! What I didn’t realize was the entire sheet of Raw, Vegan, Black bean brownies I had made two days before was gone…. One thing is for sure – my husband definitely didn’t go to bed hungry the night before!
I had to think of something that would be quick, not require my oven being turned on, nor require any eggs – I was fresh out – and also be a dessert suitable for the beautiful, summer day we were having. Call me odd, but, I like to eat for the weather. Dreary, rainy days call for soup – warm sunny days call for fruit. Its a law.
So these Super Berry Bars came into existence. This has now become my go to. This is the dessert you whip up Saturday evening because you realize you’re in charge of dessert for Sunday dinner. Or you realize your gluten free, dairy free, everything free- health nut friend is stopping by. We all have one. And if you don’t – its because you’re that friend. Dont be offended – I dont have that friend! 😉
I’ve mentioned this before, I am always looking for opportunities to put superfoods into my children’s mouths. I cannot refute the many, many studies out there on the benefits of adaptogens. An adaptogen is a very powerful, unique, root, herb, plant etc. that brings your body into balance – into homeostasis. Your body is always looking for homeostasis. If you’re dehydrated – your body asks for water, if you’re hungry – your body requires food. If your blood sugar is high – your body does what it needs to do to bring it back down, and if your stressed and your cortisol is through the roof – an adaptogen can help regulate that and suppress the stress hormones and bring you back into balance. In the crazy, wild, busy, stressed induced life we live, our bodies need all the help they can get.
And darn, that I have to eat this zesty, vivacious, power-packed, delightfully fruity – blueberry crumble to do just that. You’re twisting my arm.
As if thats not enough, I’m also going to throw in some Ceylon Cinnamon, which will balance your blood sugar and some Kefir which makes this Raw, Vegan, AIP, GF dessert – probiotic. Seriously, what more can one ask for?
Let’s begin with the topping. You’ll need:
- 3 cups blueberries
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup of your choice of sweetener (I used a stevia/xylitol blend)
- 2 TBSP Lemon Juice
- 1/3 cup Chia Seeds for the Vegan option- for AIP use 30 grams of Beef Gelatin
- 1/2 cup your choice of Kefir/Yogurt (coconut, cow, sheep/goat, cashew etc)
- 1 tsp Glucomannan Fiber
- 1 TBSP Baobab Powder
- 1 tsp Ashwagandha Powder
- In a medium sauce pan, add your blueberries, salt and sweetener.
- Stir until it begins to break down.
- Once its begun to reduce, remove from heat.
- To the sauce pan, add your lemon juice and chia seeds. Allow for the mixture to cool. *While its cooling, you can work on your base.
- Once cooled add the rest of your ingredients. Its important to insure the sauce is cooled because you will wipe out any benefitial bacteria in your kefir, and also extinguish a lot of the nutrition in the Baobab and Ashwagandha.
- Pour over your base and store in the fridge!
For the base of the bars you will need:
- 6 Pitted Medjool Dates
- 1 cup Coconut Shreds
- 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
- 1/2 cup Coconut Oil
- 1 TBSP Ceylon Cinnamon
- 1 TBSP Maca Powder
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan Salt
- 1/2 cup Water
- In a blender or food processor, place in all the ingredients in the order listed, beginning with only 1/4 cup water, and adding as necessary. The more you pulse the ingredients, the less water you’ll need. It just depends on how chunky you’d like your crust to remain. As you continue to pulse the mixture, the coconut shreds will turn into coconut butter, and the dates into syrup – reducing the amount of liquid you have to add. I used the entire 1/2 cup because I wanted my base a little more on the crumble side.
- Spread the mixture out onto a 9×13 pan and place it in the fridge to harden.
It wont take long to set. Within an hour you can be serving this up! We’ve only managed to make a sheet last a couple days, but I’m certain you could squeak a week out of this dish – if you can manage to make it last that long.
Thanks for reading! Comment bellow and let me know who you prepared it for, and whether it was successful!
Two Gnomes Table 
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