I sure am glad that January – my least favorite month – is behind us. We’re not out of winter scot-free yet, though. I find that I need some good, dense food at this blah and brrrrrtime of year: hearty soups, warm breakfasts and healthy snacks. I whipped up a batch of Quinoa Energy Bars the other day and found they were just the thing I needed to help me kick my butt (AKA get off of the couch, put on my sneakers and actually do something!) through my winter blues.These energy bars are perfect to eat before a run, a strength-training session or a long hike. They’re full of protein from both the quinoa and the coconut flour, and just a little bit sweet. The best thing is that you can customize these based on whatever kinds of fruit and nuts you like. Quinoa Energy Bars would be great with raisins, chopped dried apricots, dried blueberries or goji berries. I’m really excited to try them with sunflower butter and walnuts, too! You could also try mixing in a scoop of protein powder or a drizzle of vanilla extract.

Quinoa Energy Bars
Makes 4-6 small bars
Total time: about 45 minutes
Total hands on time: less than 10 minutesWhat you’ll need:

• 1/3 cup of coconut flour
• 2 tbsps ground flaxmeal
• 2/3 cups cooked quinoa
• 3 tbsps sliced almonds or other nuts
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup of dried cherries, chopped
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil
• 1/4 cup almond butter or other nut butter
• 2 tbsps honey
• optional: 1/4 cup water, sprinkle of cinnamon

What you’ll do:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients (including quinoa) in a mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Melt the coconut oil, honey and almond butter in a saucepan over low heat.
4. Combine wet ingredients with dry and stir well, making sure all dry ingredients become coated with wet mixture. Stir in a bit more water if necessary.
5. Pour mixture into a greased 8×8 baking pan and smooth down, making sure it’s even all around. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until just brown around the edges (ovens will vary).
6. Let cool completely before slicing into individual bars.

The texture of these is a little bit soft, so be careful when taking them out of the pan. I’ve eaten one of the bars on a plate with a dollop of greek yogurt for breakfast, and they’re good crumbled up on top of a big old bowl of fresh fruit, too.

These Quinoa Energy Bars will keep in a Tupperware container for up to a week, or you can also freeze them if you’d like them to last longer. I wrapped mine up in wax paper, but aluminum foil is fine, too.