Portable, pack-able, and power packed! Paleo chia honey power bars are a busy family game changer!
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When the magnolia tree blooms…
I always feel like spring has finally sprung! It bloomed on the early side this year, and the girls always feel like they have their own personal flower palace to play in for the week or so that the magnificent blooms stick around.
Spring also brings busier schedules for us…
…and less kitchen time for me! This is always the time of year that I have to take a step back and really prioritize so I’m not saying “yes” to all the things, and forgetting to enjoy the season. One of the ways that I can say yes to more outside-the-home-activities, is to be sure I optimize any kitchen time I have.
Here are some tips for doing that:
- Plan 1-2 hours (or a morning/evening) for a prep day. During this prep time, get ahead on whatever you can to make your meals run smoother for the week. I have one prep day (about 2 hours) every week. My prep time almost always includes, making bone broth for the week, salad dressings/mayo for the week, a dozen hard boiled eggs for the week, and veggie soup for the week to use. Bone broth and eggs are pretty hands free, but it is cooking along while I take a few minutes to stir up dressings, and get a pot of soup going. Once you get in a “mode” it’s easy to move from one thing to another in one shot.
- Prep odds and ends to make meal prep flow faster during the week. On your prep day add whatever else might be needed for that particular week such as veggie chopping to make dinners run smoother, making crackers or granola (which I usually replenish once a month or so), or getting breakfast cookies, pancakes, or bars like these chia honey bars into the freezer so breakfasts and snacks run quick.
- When making dinners, double up to optimize your time. It’s always nice to take a couple nights per week off from making dinner! Warming up dinner leftovers really helps on busier nights. Also, consider taking a longer prep dinner such as roasted chicken, to have on a less busy day like the weekend. Then, as you are de-boning the chicken pop the bones into your crockpot or Instant pot to make bone broth right off the bat. The leftover meat can be used Monday night when everyone is busy from their day back to school or work for a quick stir fry or salad, and the bone broth can be used for a dinner meal of soup later that week.
- Allow yourself a non cook night 😉 Or two! It is totally acceptable to have a family style platter dinner night! Load up a big tray of veggies and dip, fruit, cheese, nuts, olives, and hard boiled eggs. Or have a salad bar night using veggies, nuts/seeds, dried fruit, leftover meat, or avocados.
- Ask. for. help. 🙂 You are allowed! If those kiddos are old enough to feed themselves off a plate, they are old enough to peel carrots, chop fruit, stir a pot of soup, and wash the dishes. It’s ok to teach the kids that many hands make light work 😉 The more you can get done with your crew of hands, the more park time, beach time, zoo time, play time!
So let’s talk about these chia honey power bars!
I love hand held snacks just as much as everyone. I put so much thought into every single ingredient in these bars, so that with even the littlest of kiddos in the house, “every bite counts!”
Here’s a little break down!
- Chia Seeds :: The tiniest of superfoods, chia seeds are not only loaded with fiber, protein, antioxidants, and omega 3 fatty acids, they are a mineral powerhouses of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, and manganese.
- Friendly Fat Focus :: Filled to the brim with long chain fatty acids, the shredded coconut and avocado oil feed growing brains and satiate the hungriest of appetites (because “I’m hungry” every hour doesn’t jive in this house!)
- Protein Balance :: The chia provides some protein and there is also a nut sourced protein as well as grassfed collagen sourced protein. It’s a great balance and helps keeps the kids fuller longer as well as help feed their muscle growth.
- Non Refined Energy Source :: These are power bars for active kids after all! Listen, kids expend a LOT of energy. The raw honey and banana not only make the taste more palatable for kids, it also provides a great energy from a safe source to keep kids going. The fat and protein will keep blood sugars balanced so they aren’t crashing on you within an hour.
Tips for freezing
These bars freeze up fantastic. If you have those bananas starting to turn too ripe on the counter, grab them up and double batch into honey chia power bars for later. I can’t tell you how nice it is to be able to say “yes!” to an impromptu park picnic or beach day and pull a nourishing snack or meal addition out of the freezer. Not having to worry about what the kids are going to eat when they {inevitably} get hungry, is a game changer, dear momma!
You can pop your honey chia power bars right into a freezer bag. For lunch packing, just put them right in the lunchbox from the freezer – they will thaw by lunchtime. If you are serving them for breakfast, you can either set them on the counter the night before to thaw overnight, or you can pull them out of the freezer and warm them up in the oven.
Paleo Chia Honey Power Bars
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chia seeds flax seeds should work here too
- ½ cup water
- 2 small ripe bananas I think 1 cup of applesauce would work here
- ¼ cup avocado oil or melted coconut oil or butter
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup blanched almond flour If you are nut free, I think ground sunflower seeds will work, or swap for cassava flour or sorghum flour. You may want to back off the amount to ¾ cup with the sorghum.
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup grassfed collagen
- ¼ cup honey you can taste the mixture and add more if you need. If you have really little guys in the house I’d stick to this or even just a few tablespoons. For the little ones, go with less sweet than your preference as they really don’t know any different!
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend the chia seeds and water so the chia seeds are more of a “meal” versus seed texture. Set aside to thicken while you make the rest of the batter (It will get goopy, almost pudding like. It will act like “glue” to bind the bar.).
- Put the bananas in a medium mixing bowl and mash with the back of a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, along with the chia/water mixture, and mix everything to combine.
- Press the batter into a small baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let the bars cool 10 minutes before cutting.
Renee, these look great! I SO LOVE egg-free baked goods. I’m going to make these this week with the cassava flour substitution! My egg-free 8-year old (and all of us) will love them! Thank you, fun!
Awesome Megan! I hope your kiddo enjoys them!
Can you eat this raw instead of baking?
Hi Heidi! I’m not sure that they will hold up into a bar without cooking it. You could try though 🙂
Oh yum! I can’t wait to make these with the cassava flour option! They look so good and so perfect for busy schedules. I know Tiny Love will be so excited about these. And your tree!!! All of those beautiful blossoms, so envious, they have long come and gone over here. I’ll just swoon over your teacup magnolias and lilacs.
These look delicious and I love how they are packed with healthy ingredients! What a great snack and how handy that they freeze so well!
Recipe has been printed out and I will be making these tomorrow (if only I had time today!). We always love trying out new snacks like this!
Awesome Michele! Enjoy them!
I love finding healthy bars like this. Such a great way to fuel when you are busy or traveling!
Not sure if I like this bounty of great ingredients or your tips for slowing down during the busy season more. You make it easier for us to take care of ourselves! As always, you’re an inspiration and it SO shows in these beautiful bars!
Thank you Irena!
Hi! I’d like to try this recipe but I don’t have collagen. Can I substitute with grass-fed gelatin? Thanks!
Hi Regina! I think that will change the texture of the bars as gelatin gets really gummy with heat.
Perfect for Jack’s lunch box! Thanks for another great, kid friendly recipe <3
You’re welcome Cristina!
A perfect healthy alternative to protein bars. I like all the super ingredients you have in these. A yummy portable snack that my son would like. Thanks 🙂
We made these are few days ago and love them! It seems I have a hard time finding homemade granola bars with the right texture, and these were perfect! We think they taste best cold out of the fridge, my 4 year old son has had a couple every day since we made them.
These look great – and even better that they freeze well so you have a batch waiting for you whenever you need it. Great recipe and brilliant photos – love it!
I love how your posts are always so packed with incredibly useful information! I meal prep in a similar way to you, just 1-2 hours makes the whole week go better, and we rely heavily on homemade power bars too, so I’m excited to try these out!
These power bars look so delicious ! Love chia and honey flavor combo. You are such a wonderful momma !
Great meal prep tips! Spring and summer get super busy around here too, so meal prep is key for staying on track and feeling great 🙂 Love that these are freezeable too!
Love these time-saving tips! And the bars sound fabulous, too.
This looks super tasty! Do you have a chia seed substitute?
Hi Darryl! Sure! You could do flax seeds. Or you could replace it with 2 eggs.
So many great tips here, even for those of us that only have to feed ourselves!
How long do these keep in the fridge?
Thanks!
Hi Sheryl! I’d let them go for a week.
Heidi,
Did you try and make these raw?
Hi Renee! I really really love your blog and your book!! I would love to make these yummy Chiabars..but here in Germany, especially the region where I live, it is hard to find good collagen powder….so my question is: is it possible to leave it out? Or will that change the texture or can the bars fall apart? Thank you!!♡
Hi Anke! I appreciate your kind words! I don’t think it will change the bar that much to take out the collagen – it is more in there for the protein it adds. The collagen does lend some softness to baked goods, but I think with the types of ingredients in this recipe, you should be fine and they should still work out. Please let us know how they turn out so others that don’t have access may know!
I tried them today! I like! How many calories in 1 bar do you think? I made 9 bars. I did not use the collegen and it was still good!
Hi Amanda! I’m not sure on the calories – you could use a counter on Google for that. Glad you enjoyed them!
I REALLY want to make these! So many nutritious goodies…I have one daughter that doesn’t do banana anything, I might try pumpkin instead or applesauce, what do you think?
Great ingredients. Want to make these for sure! Pinning so I will do just that!!
Thanks for another fab recipe!!
What great looking, and tasting bars. Love em!
These sound perfect for a summer snack or breakfast! My kids are going to love them!