Energy Bar-Grok style

I am trying something new and posted this recipe as part of the Food Renegade Fight Back Friday blog posts, a bunch of recipes submitted by bloggers focusing on healthy eating. Check it out here.

Over at Mark’s Daily Apple he has a treat called a Grok Rock, you can find it in his recipe book for the primal blueprint. I decided to use the flavors in that treat for a snack/energy bar for my family. This also makes a nice nighttime snack, just heavy enough to get rid of that snacky feeling that sometimes strikes after 9 or 10 at night without stuffing you.

2 c. dried plums

1 c. pecans

1 t. vanilla

2 T. coconut oil, melted

2 T. cocoa powder

1 T. raw organic cocoa nibs (optional)

1/4 c. mini dark chocolate chips (optional)

unsweetened dried shredded coconut flakes

Take all the ingredients excluding the coconut flakes and blend them in a food processor. You may need to stop the food processor once or twice to push the ingredients back down into the processor. This will take about 2-3 minutes of pulsing, you want everything throughly combined. Pull this mixture out and set it in/on a plate or bowl, station another plate or bowl with coconut flakes for rolling the bar in. Occasionally coat your hands with melted coconut oil to make this next step slightly less sticky. Grab small handfuls of the plum mixture (2-3 T. depending on desired serving size) and roll it between your hands to make a log shape. Roll this log in the dried coconut flakes until all surfaces are coated. Place this on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper and lightly sprinkled with coconut flakes, press lightly to create a small bar shape. Repeat until all the mixture is used up, makes approximately 20-30 bars, depending on the size of course. Heat the oven to 170 degrees (200 is probably fine too) and bake for 10 minutes, this just helps make sure the surfaces are dry. Enjoy! My 2 children gave this 3 1/2 thumbs up between them, not bad for their first taste.