Elana Amsterdam, founder of the blog Elana's Pantry, shares her favorite gluten-free, vegan, and paleo lunchbox staple: Spicy Power Bars!
Elana Amsterdam, founder of the blog Elana's Pantry, shares her favorite gluten-free, vegan, and paleo lunchbox staple: Spicy Power Bars!
I’m eating one of these Spicy Power Bars as I type this. I’m slightly obsessed with them. Because they remind me of my past.
About 20 years ago, when I was living in New York City and had just hooked up with my adorable husband, I became very interested in Ayurveda. One of the amazing practitioners that I learned from, Pratima Raichur, had created her own version of a healing tonic, referred to in Ayurvedic circles as chyawanprash. Her product was called Bindi Chywangrans and it was delicious. My friends used to ask me what it was and I would tell them it was a special, healing, energy supplement. They teased me a lot about it!
Fast forward to the present. About a month ago, I found some interesting looking energy bars in downtown Boulder. I bought one and ate it. It kept reminding me of a taste from my past, though I could not quite put my finger on it. Finally, I realized that this bar tasted like Bindi!
Being the tinkerer that I am, I decided I would recreate the Nude Nutritionals Food Bars to taste even more Chwanpransh-like and my bindi bars were born thanks to Pratima (owner of Tej Clinic) and Nude Nutritionals (creator of the fabulous little grab and go bar).
Here’s my recipe for a super nourishing, delicious, tri-doshic power bar.
Spicy Power Bars
1 cup almonds
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup Medjool dates
1 cup dried cherries
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1. Place nuts, dates and cherries in a food processor; pulse until well ground.
2. Pulse in vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.
3. Remove mixture from food processor and press into an 8 x 8 baking dish.
4. Refrigerate overnight (6-8 hours).
5. Cut into squares and serve.
Get more Paleo-friendly recipes at Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry
