This week the  CEimB group is making something good and guilt free. That’s not unusual but we have been kind of stuck in a dinner/salad rut lately so these little goody bars were perfect. We were ready for them.

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The pick by Heide of Chez Zero who is one busy lady, was just what Ted and I wanted after the holiday plates of overly sweet treats. If Heide doesn’t have the recipe up yet, you can find it HERE. My version is below.

Walnut and Dried Cherry Bars – Joanne’s version should read “Chocolate and Dried Cherry Bars”

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There were 4 ingredient changes I made to the recipe.

1. Quick cooking oats. I used Eco-Planet Organics 7 Whole Grain Gluten Free Cereal.

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Why? Because I didn’t like this cereal as a breakfast option so I thought it would work well in these bars. It’s “instant” so it met the “quick-cooking” requirement. The nutrition was appealing, which is why I bought it in the first place:

Per 40 g – 1 serving

Calories: 145 Fat 3 g Carbohydrates: 25g Fiber 6g Sugars 1 g and Protein 6g.

The ingredients: All organic… rolled oats, puffed amaranth, chicory root powder, flaxseed flour, chia flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, quinoa flour, buckwheat flour, and millet flour.

2. Instead of whole wheat flour, I used brown rice flour to keep it gluten free.

3. Wheat germ. Didn’t have any. I used cocoa. That’s where the “Chocolate” comes from.

4. Honey. I cut the honey in half and used ¼ cup (instead of ½ cup) plus ¼ cup maple syrup.

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Makes 15 bars/squares

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· 1 cup 7 Whole Grain Gluten Free Instant Cereal

· ¾ cup Brown Rice Flour

· ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

· 1 tsp cinnamon

· ¼ tsp salt

· ¼ cup honey

· ¼ cup maple syrup

· 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

· ¼ cup canola oil

· 1 egg

· 1 egg white

· ¾ cup dried cherries

· ½ cup chopped walnuts

· ¼ cup fruit only apricot preserves – melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the cereal, flour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, mix the honey, maple syrup, applesauce, oil, egg, egg white until combined. Stir in the dry mixture until well combined. Add the cherries and nuts.

Spray an 8” square baking pan with non-stick spray and spread mixture in the pan. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.

Heat the preserves in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute (depending on your microwave oven power), stir, then brush over the cooked bars while warm. Let cook then ENJOY!

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I snacked on 2 squares and haven’t seen the rest of them since. Guess they were a big hit with SOMEONE in the house.

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