Our Southern Odyssey
Chocolate Sprouted Pumpkin Seed Coconut Bars
Let me start by saying that these are absolutely delicious. The Carob powder gives them a rich chocolate taste, the dates gives them the perfect amount of sweetness and the avocado makes them soft enough to melt in your mouth. They are rich and full of flavor, soft like fudge and incredibly healthy. I love making these bars. Because, they are so easy to make and they do not require me to mess up every dish in the kitchen. There is also no cooking involved; therefore, no stove or oven to pre-heat and watch. This way you are not heating up your kitchen. In the deep south it is hot enough without the kitchen heating up the house. These are great to take with you when you’re going to be away from home. Just remember you have to keep them cold. They would also be great to pack for a school or work lunch. We pack them with those flexible ice packs in our insulated lunch box. Every time that I make them, they never last long. They will hold in the fridge for five days; however, this is never a problem for us because we eat them within a few days. After five days I would recommend making a new batch. Keep them in the fridge so they will hold together, if left out they will crumble.
This recipe is Caffeine-Free, Raw, and Grain-Free
How to Make Our Southern Odyssey’s Chocolate Sprouted Pumpkin Seed Coconut Bars
Take your avocado, cut it in half then remove the pit and skin, cut it into cubes and place in the food processor. The avocado will give the bars a fudge like consistency. Next remove the pits from all ten dates and place the dates in the food processor, not the pits. The dates gives the bars their sweetness. Take and measure out your sprouted pumpkin seeds, shredded unsweetened coconut flakes and carob powder. Add all the ingredients to the food processor as you measure them. Add the Himalayan fine grain pink salt to the food processor. Then add the vanilla flavoring and finally the melted coconut oil and ghee. Put the lid on the food processor and pulse all the ingredients together until everything is blended smoothly together. 
Use parchment paper to line a 13” x 9” pan or a 9″ x 9″ if you want thicker bars. Scoop out the mixture onto the parchment in the pan and then with your fingers or a spoon press the mixture down so that it is even across the pan. I prefer using the back of a spoon to press the bars out. You could sprinkle some more sprouted pumpkin seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes and flax seeds on top to make the bars pretty. Remember to lightly press the garnishes down a little into the bars. Take a dinner knife and score the mixture to the size that you want the bars. I usually try to make mine a 1” x 1” that way they are bite size. However, you could make your larger if you would like. After you have scored the mixture to make the bars place the pan in the freezer for 20 minutes. If you leave them in longer it will not hurt anything. They will just be hard, as a rock, and you will have to let them melt for about 5 minutes before you will be able to cut them. After you remove the pan from the freezer lift out the parchment paper with the bars and set the parchment on the counter. Now take the same dinner knife and finish cutting the bars where you scored them earlier. Place them in a glass bowl with a lid so that they will be easy to get to in the fridge. I hope that you enjoy these as much as I do.
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