Chocolate Walnut Freezer Bars

I’m on a no bake protein snack kick.  I’ve been making Chocolate Walnut Freezer Bars, Peanut Butter No Bakes, Sunbutter No Bakes, and PB&J Bars.  They are all in the line up to share with you.

Archerfriendly protein-esque snacks, whether bought or made, really help me get through a day with a newborn, a toddler, a blog, and medical school when I’ve run out of time to make an actual meal.  I prefer to make my own bars and protein snacks, but I always have some kind of manufactured AF bar on hand for those moments when I’ve got nothing else to eat.

My Chocolate Walnut Freezer Bars are made in memory of the retired Clif Nectar Dark Chocolate Walnut bars.  Do you remember them?  They tasted like brownies, I could eat them, and they were my favorite organic munchie on the go!  With only 3 grams of protein a bar, they were a bit lower in protein than the other AF bars I reviewed.

In all the foods I make, I am determined to increase protein and decrease sugar as much as possible.  This is my secret to balancing blood sugar.  Because of this, my version has more walnuts and less dates than the original bar, making them taste more like the archerfriendly version of the Nestle Crunch bar… but without the rice crispy crunch.

Unfortunately, after making and eating these bars numerous times, my tree nut allergies came to a head.  (I use the term “allergies” loosely and some time I’ll explain to you all the differences:  allergy vs. food intolerance vs. food reaction, etc.)  I haven’t gotten my blood drawn to test for antibodies to nuts, so technically, it may just be a food reaction and not a real allergy.  Who knows.

I don’t think I’ll remain “allergic” to nuts forever.  A lot of my food allergies are due to a condition I have called leaky gut.  Leaky gut is not a permanent condition.  It’s curable, yes, but healing it occurs very ssslllooowwwly.  I’ve gone for years without treating this condition, and my list of food allergies seems to grow by the minute.  That’s not normal.

Just because I have to cut back on the nuts, doesn’t mean you can’t have them!  They are an ideal snack, since they are a source of protein and healthy fats.  If you use them as a snack, raw is optimal.  Don’t worry about the fat in them, it’s good fat people, good fat.

In case you don’t like to cook, you can make these!  They do require the melting of chocolate on the stove top, but I’ve made them without doing that step.  The stove top melting just helps the chocolate spread evenly throughout the bar.

When I make these for my daughter, I cut them, wrap them in wax paper, tape them shut with a piece of masking tape, and put them in a freezer bag.  She loves getting an individually wrapped homemade bar to eat, especially since it compares to opening a present.  Plus, individually wrapping them minimizes the dreaded freezer burn.

Can’t have tree nuts?  Swap out the walnuts for some pumpkin seeds!

Chocolate Walnut Freezer Bars

Ingredients

• 2.5 ounces of chocolate liquor or unsweetened chocolate
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 generous cups of raw walnut halves
• 27 – 30 pitted dates
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Makes 12 bars, about 2 1/2 inches by 2 inches

1. Line the bottom of an 8″ by 8″ pan with parchment paper.
2. Prepare a double boiler on very low heat to melt the chocolate liquor.  Melt the chocolate until it turns to liquid, stirring intermittently.
3. In a food processor, blend cocoa powder, walnuts, dates, and vanilla until they are well incorporated and start to form a wad.
4. Place contents from food processor into a heat safe bowl.  Pour melted chocolate into bowl.
5. Mix all ingredients together and press into an 8″ x 8″ glass pan.
6. Place pan in the freezer.
7. Once they have hardened, cut into 12 bars, individually wrap, and store them in the freezer.

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