Soft & Crunchy Carob Energy Bars

There's a Bio store (organic health food grocery store) in Budapest that carries some cookies that are filled with a carob-sesame-honey filling. I lived on those for a while when I was there. Aside from the honey, they're vegan and whole grain and organic but of course not raw. That was perfect for me back then when I was a vegan whole foods enthusiasts and had not even heard of the strange concept ; ) of eating raw yet. So I was in heaven when they had them and was quite upset whenever they were out. They sold like hotcakes so you had to be on top of things and learn when they were delivered and be there shortly after. But that was then....and THIS is now.

It's been long overdue that I combined the above described flavors and created a raw delicacy and without further ado I'll share with you the "rawsome" outcome of my trial-and-error snack bars.

Crunchy Carob Energy Bars

(Makes 5 bars)

1/4 cup and 2 tsp carob powder

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup buckwheaties*

2 tsp lucuma powder

1/4 cup and 3 tsp tahini

3 tsp honey (not vegan) or maple syrup (not raw) or agave syrup

juice of 1 small carrot and a 1 in (~2 cm) piece ginger

For coating: cinnamon or extra carob powder or lucuma powder

* Buckwheaties are sprouted and dehydrated buckwheat. You could just soak and dehydrate them to be qicker. I usually make a big batch to have them around whenever I need to use them in a recipe.

Directions
1. Optional: grind the sesame seeds just a little bit to break them up.
2. Using a fork, mix all of the ingredients in a bowl adding the juice little by little.
3. Add more juice if the mixture is too dry to handle and add more carob powder if it gets too wet. Taste test and add more sweetener if desired.
4. Form bars or any other shapes out of the mixture. It will be a sticky experience but it's so worth it. Roll each bar into cinnamon or carob powder.
5. Store them in the fridge if you prefer them firm, leave them out for a softer snack.

Carob's benefits
This caffein-free bean that's commonly used instead of cacao in desserts is very rich in calcium, practically fat-free, has no oxalic acid to interfere with absorption of nutrients, and is naturally sweet so you'll probably use less sweetener in your recipes when using carob.

Buckwheat and ginger have warming energy, a perfect cold-weather food. Sesame seeds and tahini are extremely rich in minerals and B-vitamins and will nourish your bones, your hair and skin.

That's right, these bars are not only yummy but quite nourishing as well. I took one a day with me to work last week and looked forward to my after-lunch dessert more than ever :) They're great for traveling too. Enjoy!