Chocolate Coconut Chia Bars

Chocolate Coconut Chia Bars are no sugar added, no bake snack bars that are great for a healthy dessert or snack and are lunch box approved

It's Recipe ReDux time, and this month's theme is Bars & Bites for Brown Bags:

Whether you pack your lunch in a bento box, a brown bag or a retro cartoon character lunch box, don't forget the bars and bites. Small squares or round bites can pack nutrition into a sweet or savory taste. Show us your favorite way to jazz up any type of lunch box.

I chose to make some bars, no particular reason other than I didn't have the time to roll the mixture into balls. Pressing the mixture into a pan and cutting into squares seemed a lot easier to me.

These little chocolatey bites of goodness have no added sugar - just dates make up their wonderful sweetness. I've been on a mad chocolate kick lately and these do an amazing job at satisfying cravings for chocolate without me feeling restricted to a tiny piece of chocolate.

I love that the CCC Bars {short for Chocolate Coconut Chia Bars} are packed with fiber thanks to the chia seeds and dates.

Another beautiful thing about these bars? They're allergy friendly.

Most bars always have some sort of offending ingredient that isn't tolerated by certain food allergies... think nuts, gluten, etc.

But not these!

Just dates, chia seeds, cocoa powder, coconut oil & unsweetened coconut flakes, vanilla extract, and salt.

Coconut is not a nut {it's considered a fruit and most people with nut allergies can tolerate coconut. Be sure to check with your allergist, though!}, and chia seeds are seeds -- obviously -- so they shouldn't bother someone with a nut allergy. Again, be sure to check with your doctor.

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All of the ingredients are naturally gluten free, and these require no baking time {score for this steamy weather!}

For those warmer weathered months, I recommend keeping these refrigerated because they get a little sticky and slightly smooshy {it's a word, I promise} when they come to room temperature or hotter.

Just so you know, these are very similar to my No Bake Cocoa Banana Bars but they don't have any almond butter or bananas.

And you don't have to do any cooking at all for these things. Just put everything in a food processor and you're good to go.

These do require a little time in the fridge, but honestly, they were yummy without sitting in the fridge.

They're good no matter what.

I took these to work as an easy and filling snack, and one friend commented, "those were little bites of chocolatey heaven"

I couldn't agree more 😉

Chocolate Coconut Chia Bars

Chocolate Coconut Chia Bars are no sugar added, no bake snack bars that are great for a healthy dessert or snack and are lunch box approved

Print Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 12 bars

Author: Meme

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup dates about 10 dates
• ▢ 3 tablespoon water
• ▢ 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 cup chia seeds
• ▢ 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• ▢ 1/4 cup coconut flakes unsweetened
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Add dates, water, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Add chia and cocoa powder, and blend until completely incorporated {you might have to push down the mixture a few times}.
• Blend in coconut and salt.
• Press into a parchment-lined 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking dish {it helps if you use an extra piece of parchment or waxed paper to use to press the mixture in a pan}. Refrigerate for at least 4 hour or overnight. Cut into 12 squares. Keep refrigerated.

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

Meme

Be sure you read about all the other great options for bars & bites you can pop in a brown bag:

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