Today, I bring you easy to make and even easier to eat seed bars inspired by my need for extra iron. I have had ridiculously low ferritin for two years now and while I am supplementing, I am also trying to be more intentional with iron-rich plant foods I consume on a regular basis.

Both sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds are rich in iron but I don’t always fancy snacking on them like a little bird so baking them into energy bars seemed like a good shout. While I was at it, I went through my cupboards and found a whole host of other suitable ingredients that were begging to be used up and so that’s how these bars came about. I transformed my food cupboard chaos into neat and orderly seed bars. What a win.

These seed bars are delicious, intentionally nut-free, they are firm and crunchy and do not crumble – something that I had in mind when developing this recipe. They are made out of variety of small seeds and other finely ground ingredients, which ensures that there are no void or gaps left once the bars are baked and compressed. The dry ingredients are bound together by a mixture of ground flax seed, melted coconut oil and maple syrup and the result is great. Subtly sweet, crunchy yet firm bars that are handy to have around. I went an extra mile and coated them in a thin layer of dark chocolate, but that’s totally optional. Provided you follow my instructions and compress them really well before and after baking, they will stay together well. They make for a perfect afternoon treat, a hike pick me up or even breakfast on the go. We have been loving having them on hand (perhaps a bit too much) and I hope you will too.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

PUMPKIN SEEDS Pumpkin seeds are, aside for sesame seeds, one of the seeds that contain most amount of iron. They boast 8.8 mg of iron per 100 g. If iron is not your priority, you can swap them out for other small seeds if you prefer, but I like their texture and flavour. I also like the fact that they are inexpensive and very nutritious.

SUNFLOWER SEEDS: Sunflower seeds have plenty of nutrition. They contain plenty of vitamin E which is a powerful antioxidant, they’re rich in protein, plus contain a whole host of essential micronutrients: selenium, copper, manganese and magnesium. It’s cheap and easily available.

SESAME SEEDS: Sesame seeds are small but mighty seeds, they are the most iron-rich of all the seeds boasting 14.5 mg of iron per 100 g. Iron aside, they are also rich in calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and B vitamins. They come hulled and unhulled and both can be used, I used hulled as that’s what I had in my cupboard, but unhulled are better for you.

GROUND FLAX: Ground flax seeds are excellent for your health. They are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and consuming them ground rather than whole ensures better absorption of their nutrients as whole flax seeds are so tiny that they tend to pass through the system undigested. Nutrition aside, ground flax has tremendous binding properties and so it’s used in this recipe for that purpose, do not be tempted to skip it as it is likely that your bars will become crumblier. You should be able to sub ground flax seeds with ground chia seeds though.

DESICCATED COCONUT: I used finely ground desiccated coconut in these seed bars. Not only does it provide subtle coconut taste, which I enjoy, but due to it’s size and inherent flexibility, finely shredded coconut helps these seed bars to stay together. If you dislike coconut, swap it out for the same amount of oat bran or oat flour to help with binding.

DRIED CRANBERRIES: I used some dried cranberries in these bars for little pops of fruity flavour. I love the contrast between crunchy toasted seeds and slightly sour soft cranberries. If you don’t like cranberries, you could sub them for chopped dried apricots or figs for example.

SALT: I added just a touch of fine sea salt to these seed bars to enhance their flavour. You can skip this ingredient if you are trying to reduce.

MAPLE SYRUP: Maple syrup, in conjunction with ground flax and melted coconut oil, is what keeps these seed bars from falling apart. A different liquid sweetener like brown rice syrup, agave or honey (if you consume it) should work in an exactly the same way but I have not tested with either of these.

COCONUT OIL: A bit of coconut oil mixed in with maple syrup helps these seed bars to stay together. I recommend using deodorised coconut oil, which does not taste of coconut unless that’s not a problem for you.

DARK CHOCOLATE: Once these seed bars have set, I like to drizzle them with some melted 70% cacao dark chocolate. A layer of chocolate makes these bars a little more indulgent and helps to bind them together even more although they stay together fine without it too so you can totally skip this ingredient if you prefer.

HOW TO MAKE IT?

1) COMBINE MAPLE SYRUP AND GROUND FLAX

Ground flax is used to help these bars stay together and while typically ground flax is activated in water, I did not want to add any water to this recipe as I think that it would have a negative impact on the texture of these bars. This is why I activated ground flax in maple syrup and it turns out that it works a treat.

2) TOAST YOUR SEEDS

For the most irresistible flavour, I recommend toasting larger seeds before making these bars. You don’t want a lot of colour on your seeds as these bars bake in the oven for about half another, but a light colour will intensify their flavour and make them nice and crunchy. For more control, you can toast the seeds – one type as a time as they are all different sizes – in a dry frying pan. I typically only toast pumpkin and sunflower seeds. For a more hands-off approach, toast pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a low oven until crispy and lightly golden.

3) MIX EVERYTHING, BUT CHOCOLATE

Once your seeds are toasted, combine them with the remaining ingredients – sesame seeds, cranberries, coconut and salt. Next stir in maple syrup activated ground flax and melted coconut oil. Stir everything well until well combined – you want dry ingredients to glisten. If there are still dry pockets of ingredients left, it probably means that your measuring wasn’t accurate. Don’t worry, simply add more maple syrup and melted coconut oil until everything is nicely lubricated.

4) FORM AND BAKE

Transfer the mixture to a baking tin, compact it really well by pressing it down with a flat object (I use a large measuring cup but a flat bottomed glass works well too) and bake until golden. Once baked, once again, use a flat object to press the mixture down again to make sure the bars do not fall apart after cutting. I also recommend weighing it down with something heavy (like a can of beans) while they are cooling.

4) COOL AND DRIZZLE

Once the bars have set, you can drizzle them with a little or a lot of chocolate. Chocolate makes these bars a little more indulgent and ensures that they stay together even better! I made these bars without chocolate layer too and they stay together fine without it too.