Paleo Cereal and Larabars!

Yes, it's true...I have found a Paleo recipe that both looks and tastes like cereal!  I am sure for a lot of you that have converted to the Paleo diet, cereal is definitely one of the foods that is missed.  I have always enjoyed having a bowl of cereal for breakfast, and it is still possible while being Paleo!  The recipe does include hemp seed, which I am still not 100% sure on if it is truly Paleo, but I did find several sources that said this seed is accepted on the Paleo diet (so I'm going with that!).  Also, I know that fruit juice is also not allowed on the Paleo diet, but I was lazy and didn't want to go through the process of making my own apple juice so I purchased Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Organic Apple Juice.  However, if you really are trying to make this 100% Paleo, here is a link for Making Your Own Apple Juice (Just don't add any additional sugar or sweetener at the end).


The taste of this cereal was awesome, but the batch I made didn't quite get as crispy as I would have preferred.  I think the next time I will roll the dough out thinner and let it sit in the oven longer to help it dry out.  The batch I made came out to be three just over 1/2 cup sized servings (The recipe I followed said it would make six 1/2 cup servings).


I enjoyed mine with half of a sliced banana and some unsweetened vanilla almond milk! Yum!

Paleo Cinnamon Crunch Cereal
Adapted from I Breathe...I'm Hungry...

Ingredients
1/2 cup milled flax seed
1/2 cup hulled hemp seed
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup apple juice
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 400°F.

2) Add all dry ingredients to a food processor or blender.

3) Add coconut oil and apple juice to food processor or blender and process until fully combined (Do not worry about getting it super smooth, maintaining the texture of the seeds makes the cereal even better!).

4) Spread the batter on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet until even and thin (about 1/16th of an inch thick).

5) Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

6) Lower the oven to 250°F and bake for another 10 minutes.

7) Remove from the oven and cut into small squares using a pizza cutter or sharp knife (Really could be personal preference on the size, but I cut mine into squares about the size of a computer keyboard key).

8) Turn off the oven and put the cereal back inside for an hour or until it is crisp and breaks easily (I left mine in for closer to 2 hours, but it may have needed the extra time because it was slightly too thick).

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This Larabar recipe is AWESOME!!! It really does taste like a cookie and the consistency is great.  I will definitely be making a larger batch of these later!  The original recipe I used said it would produce 12 squares, but I ended up with 9 bars.  *Note: These bars are pretty rich so cutting them into small bars will still give you a satisfying amount for a snack.

Cashew Cookie Larabar
Adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup raw unsweetened almond butter (or other nut butter of choice)
1/4 cup raw unsweetened coconut flakes
1 Tablespoon water

Directions
1) Combine dates, cashews, almond butter, and water in a food processor and process until mixture sticks together (You don't want to completely blend the nuts, they add a nice texture to the bars).

2) Scoop out the date mixture and use your hands to work it together into a big ball (As you squeeze the mixture more with your hands it will begin to stick together more).

3) Mash down the mixture onto a sheet of wax paper into one even rectangle or square shape (This does not have to be perfect, but making it even makes it easier to slice into bars or squares).

4) Slice into even squares, bars, or whatever other shape you feel like making.

5) If you want to make this an easy snack to grab-n-go, wrap each bar in a piece of plastic wrap.

6) For best results, store bars in the fridge.

-Brought to you from Erin's Kitchen