My late father was diagnosed with celiac long before there was much information, or any support, around this auto-immune disorder. He had been sick for years and years before diagnosed. And, his grandfather had “mysteriously wasted away to nothing.” Likely an undiagnosed celiac.
My mom, who’s a total (quiet) rock star, gave herself a doctorate in celiac and celiac cooking. She called food companies (this is long before the GF label), ordered for him in restaurants, prepared all his meals, removed all gluten from the house, and was a general badass wife. This was long before I earned my master’s in nutrition, but I was definitely a foodie, working as a volunteer for the Weston A. Price international nutrition foundation, and training with them.
There was this one GF (gluten-free) recipe that mom had uncovered that my dad LOVED, and the ingredients—well, let’s just say I wasn’t a fan. Gladly, one thing I love to do is Recipe Rehab. My goal is to take a recipe that contains Fake Food, switch up some of the ingredients, and try to make is as close to 100% Food Sass® as possible, while keeping the taste either the same, or better. (I know, I know. I need to get out more ;-))
I rehabbed that badboy and it was even better tasting than the original. Seriously, my clients RAVE about these bars. So this Halloween season, pass that candy by, and make a batch of Bop Bars to feed your inner Candy Monster (Cookie Monster’s twin brother).
Why “Bop?”
You know how when you become a grandparent and you pick out your grandparent name? (Mine’s Mimi, and my adorable, sassy granddaughter is 2.) And then the first grandchild, when they’re learning to speak, sometimes totally hatchets the name and then it sticks forevermore, for every grandchild that follows? Yah. My dad wanted to be called Pop and my oldest nephew interpreted that as Bop. And since I rehabbed these for my dad, they’re Bop Bars.
🙂
Bop Bars
Makes 24 bars
Fixings:
- 2 c. almonds
- 2 c. walnuts or pecans
- 1 c. organic, no-sugar peanut butter
- 4 oz. 70% dark chocolate
- 1/3 c. raw honey
- 1/4 c. coconut oil
Optional
- 2 tbsp. freshly ground flax seeds
- 2 tsp. nutritional yeast
Prep:
- Put honey, coconut oil, chocolate, and peanut butter in saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally. You want it warm enough to melt the chocolate, but you don’t want to compromise nutrients by over-heating.
- Finely chop nuts in food processor and pour into large bowl with optional ingredients.
- Pour warmed chocolate mixture over the dry mixture in the bowl and stir immediately. You may have to use your hands in a kneading fashion to get it properly mixed.
- Drop this mixture into a 9×13 buttered baking pan and press down with hands and then spatula to make even and flat.
- No cooking required! Cool in fridge and then cut into bars. They store well in the freezer.
Note: these babies need to be kept chilled or they get mushy. Still delicious & nutritious, but not as bar-ish.
ENJOY!
Create Vibrant Health: BodyMindSpirit®!
With love & sass,
Laurie
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