Are you looking for an easy way to stock healthy snacks in your frig? No-Bake Apricot and Almond Quinoa Bars hit the spot when you’re reaching for a bite of something with taste and substance. The flavor is there, and so are the nutrients. This recipe is a keeper.
Back to Earth
It only seems fitting that after all the hoopla about the solar eclipse, that I reign it in, get grounded and share a new recipe that has earth written all over it. I’m talking oats, quinoa, maple syrup, almonds, apricots and more. And it’s a recipe that can easily be gluten free and vegan if that’s what you need.
You might remember that my daughter introduced me to quinoa, and I’ve been trying hard to add more of it to my diet. I’m trying even harder to get quinoa into BF’s diet. It seems like once I get on a bandwagon and I believe in something, I want everyone else to love it too. Quinoa fits into this category. In my Italian Quinoa Bowl recipe, I talked about quinoa being a complete protein containing all essential amino acids. Just knowing that should have us scrambling to create recipes with quinoa.
In today’s earth recipe, I’m going to introduce you to maple syrup. 100% pure maple syrup is the ingredient that binds everything together making it possible to cut into bars. We have my sister Patti (#3) to thank for this. On a recent road trip to visit her daughter Leah, we had lengthy conversations about using 100 % pure maple sugar as a substitute for white granulated sugar. So, I’m on a quest to share with the world what I’ve learned about pure maple sugar. I’m now putting it in my morning bowl of oatmeal, and for a sweet craving, I drizzle it on plain yogurt. I’ve been through a couple of bottles now, and Maple Grove Farms seems tops so far. I’ll include a link below. Delicious!
I mentioned that this recipe could be gluten free. I used gluten free oats in this post, and regular quick oats can be used. All the ingredients are gluten free.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup contains nutrients that you will not find in white sugar. Antioxidants and minerals like zinc and manganese are at the top of the chart. A tablespoon of maple syrup offers 33% of our recommended daily allowance of manganese which offers a list of benefits. They include; promotion of healthy bones, helps control sugar levels, boosts metabolism, reduces inflammation, helps prevent osteoporosis, increases vitamin absorption, improves cognitive function, and the list goes on and on.
“Manganese is very important for the normal functioning of the brain and proper activity of our nervous system throughout the body. As far as research can tell, it is an essential trace mineral for every form of life”. (Organic Facts)
Both maple syrup and cane sugar are made of about two-thirds sucrose, but maple syrup impacts your blood sugar levels less drastically than table sugar because it has a lower glycemic index score.
Maple Syrup Nutrition Facts per 1 tablespoon contains about:
- 0.7 milligrams manganese (33 % Recommended Daily Value,)
- 0.8 milligrams zinc (6 % RDV)
- 13.4 milligrams calcium (1 % RDV)
- 40.8 milligrams potassium (1 % RDV)
- 0.2 milligrams iron (1 % RDV)
- 2.8 milligrams magnesium (1 % RDV)
The Vermont Maple Sugar Association offers a chart on How To Substitute Maple Syrup and Sugar.
No-Bake Apricot and Almond Quinoa Bars
When you look down at the ingredients can you see the earth? No dirt in this recipe, just nutrient rich flavors that come together making the perfect snack. You’ll never buy another granola bar.
After the dry ingredients are combined, add the syrup, butter, and vanilla and mix. If you can form the mixture into a ball, you have enough maple syrup. If not, add one tablespoon of syrup at a time to get your desired consistency.
Making your own bars allows you to cut them to your preferred size. I did both small bite size squares and bars for the pictures in this post. The bite sized bars made them an easy grab and go snack. In the picture below I show them sprinkled with a powdered sugar and cocoa mixture. This is not necessary; I just wanted to give you some options.
So, what do you think? Does this look like a recipe that you could get your family excited about or maybe just you? When you read through the ingredients I bet you are thinking about substitutions. I do that a lot when I’m looking at recipes. It comes naturally or you’re thinking about the ingredients you have on hand and what can be swapped out.
Are you currently using maple syrup in your diet? Please consider leaving a comment for the Sock Box 10 Community. We’d love to hear from you.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Rose
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won’t cost you a penny more)!
My Grocery List
- Maple Grove Farms 100 % Pure Maple Syrup
- Better Body Foods Organic Quinoa
- Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Rolled Oats
- Badia Organic Ground Flax Seed
- 1¼ cups quick oats (I used
gluten free oats) - 1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
- 1 cup chopped almonds
- ½ cup ground flaxseed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup 100% pure maple syrup (extra can be added, see note below)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped apricots (a 6 oz package will do)
- In a large bowl, combine oats, quinoa, almonds, flaxseed, apricots, and salt.
- Mix well.
- Add maple syrup, butter, and vanilla extract and mix with a spoon until it's combined and the mixture is moist. If it seems dry, add more maple syrup one tablespoon at a time. You do not want it to be too wet. To test, if you can form a ball with it, it has enough moisture.
- Line a 9 X 9 baking dish with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Firmly press the mixture into the pan making sure you get it into the corners, and the top is smooth. Pack it in.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- When ready, lift the bars out of the pan and cut to size.
- I like small squares for snacking, or you can cut into 12 larger squares.
- Keep refrigerated.
- In the post, I show them sprinkled with powdered sugar and cocoa. This step is up to you. They are perfect without it.
- The prep time includes cooking the quinoa and the refrigeration.
- Enjoy!