Breakfast Bars {Made w/Almond Meal, Coconut, Dried Fruit, & Honey}

I’m a big fan of breakfast.  From omelets and potatoes to yogurt and fruit, I’m the type who has to eat before I can do pretty much anything in the morning.  Sometimes though, there’s just not enough time for a proper brecky in the morning.  So for those days (or for a yummy snack with your coffee at home), these breakfast bars are the perfect fix.  Since I’m trying to eat less gluten and sugar in general, I made them without either… but trust me, no flavor is lacking here!  In fact, I’m already making another batch because the man ate all of this batch yesterday (I swear he’s the human equivalent to the cookie monster).  As with most of my cooking, I threw in whatever I had around- almonds, coconut, dried cranberries and raisins, pumpkin seeds, etc… they turned out perfectly sweet, salty, fruity, and nutty.  Now on to batch two!!

Makes 8 bars

INGREDIENTS

1 cup almond meal

1/2 cup almonds, chopped or broken up

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries & raisins)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp honey (I prefer raw)

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp ghee (or butter), melted

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients

(everything except honey, vanilla, and ghee)

Stir in wet ingredients (honey, vanilla, and ghee) until well mixed

Lightly grease a medium baking dish (I used an 8×8)

Put mixture in dish and gently press down until evenly packed

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until golden

Cut and serve

I served theis batch with Greek yogurt and oranges…