Chef shows easy ways to make nutritious, tasty energy bars

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) -- Richard Peters sells energy balls at The Hive in Santa Monica. They're little organic orbs of goodness created by chef Julie Morris who uses nutrient-dense ingredients known as superfoods.

"It's a little smaller nosh, little more fun. Looks different, but tastes much better in my opinion than a lot of the bars out there," Peters said.

"Bars couldn't be easier to make. And when we go to the store, they're expensive, a lot of times they're filled with filler ingredients that really have nothing, or they're just not living up to their nutritional potential," said Morris, author of Superfood Snacks cookbook.

She says the recipe is so easy, people can make them at home. In order for the bar to have the best in taste and texture, it will need a chewy ingredient, a crunchy ingredient and something with solid structure like toasted oats or ground nuts.

"There's usually a few different categories that you kind of want to think of and you can adjust endlessly on this," Morris said.

First, any dried fruit sweetens the bar and keeps the batch stuck together.

"Nuts and seeds (are next). This adds protein, fat, satiation, a little texture and crunch so it makes the bar taste great," she said.

Also, add nutrient power houses such as chia and hemp seeds, cocoa nibs and more to boost taste and health.

Morris' chocolate cherry goji bar has cocoa nibs, dried cherries, goji berries with a date, walnut and almond base.

Her green banana coconut crunch bars taste like the coconut, dried banana and hemp seeds, and it has a mere teaspoon of spirulina powder, which is a great veggie protein.

"There's no need to add sugar, agave, maple syrup when you're making these sort of things. You can rely completely on fruit, which is nice because it encapsulates the entire package of nutrition," Morris said.

The biggest challenge? You'll need a food processor to chop ingredients, but inexpensive versions work well to make bars.

Just wrap, flatten, unwrap then cut.

Here are two recipes from Morris' Superfood Snacks cookbook:

Chocolate Cherry Goji Bars

Makes 8 bars / 8 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cups raw walnuts

3/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted

1/2 cup dried goji berries

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup dried cherries

2 tablespoons cacao nibs

Directions:

• In a food processor, combine the walnuts and the almonds, and process the nuts into the size of small gravel. Add the dates, goji berries, vanilla extract, and cinnamon powder, and process until the mixture forms clumps and begins to stick together. Add the cherries and cacao nibs and process briefly to incorporate the ingredients, but leave some small chunks for texture.
• Stop the machine and check the consistency: Depending on the natural moisture of the dates, you may need to add a touch of water-1 teaspoon at a time-to get the crumbs to stick together when pinched.
• If the dough is too wet, blend in a few extra almonds.
• Place the dough on a large sheet of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Press the dough into a compact rectangle, then wrap it tightly in the plastic, compacting it even more.
• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 1-inch-thick layer.
• Unwrap the dough and cut it into bars or bites as desired.

Energy bars will last several weeks unrefrigerated and covered, or keep them in the freezer for long-term storage.

Superfood Boost: Add a teaspoon of spirulina powder while blending the ingredients for a mineral-rich green upgrade.

Green Banana-Coconut Crunch Bites

Makes 24 bites / 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups unsweetened banana chips, divided

1/2 cup Medjool dates (about 7-8 large), pitted

*3/4 teaspoon spirulina powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch sea salt

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

*3 tablespoons hempseeds

NOTE: For the best results look for banana chips that are made with coconut or palm oil and contain little or no sugar.

Directions:

• Place 1 cup of the banana chips in a food processor and grind into gravel-sized bits. Add the dates, spirulina powder, vanilla extract, and sea salt, and process into a chunky "dough." Stop the machine and check the consistency: Depending on the natural moisture of the dates, you may need to add a touch of water - 1/2 teaspoon at a time - to get the crumbs to stick together when pinched together.
• If the dough is too wet, mix in a little extra coconut in the next step, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Add the coconut shreds and hempseeds, and process to distribute. Add the remaining 1/3 cup banana chips and process for several seconds to just break them apart, but leave in some crunchy bits.
• Place the dough on top of a large sheet of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Press the dough into a compact square. Then tightly wrap it in the plastic, compacting the dough even more into a 6-inch square.
• Unwrap the dough and cut it into 24 small squares. Alternately, simply use your hands to form the dough into bites.

Green Banana-Coconut Crunch Bites may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for several weeks, or in the freezer for several months.