Will Run For Chocolate Cherry Coconut Energy Bars/Balls

It was an innocent enough question, "Have you started planning for school yet?".  Who asks that question in July?!?  Rather than thinking about lesson planning, curriculum and the lovelies that will be in my class next year I started thinking about lunches and school snacks instead.

Sometimes you need a sweet treat to make it through the day (e.g. on days when you have an opera singing ballerina penguin in your classroom full of 9 & 10 year olds during your math lesson on probability).

Chocolate Cherry Coconut Energy Bars/Balls

(makes 15 bars/balls)

ingredients

4 C puffed kamut (puffed wheat, puffed millet, etc. also work well)

*1 C buckwheat honey

1 C unsweetened dried  coconut

1/2 C cocoa nibs

1/2 C dried cherries

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (vanilla extract works as well)

* I've also used brown rice syrup and agave nectar but I found the bars to be fairly sticky and I had difficulty getting them to keep their shape.

In a large bowl combine kamut, cocoa nibs, dried cherries and dried coconut.

dry ingredients

In a medium saucepan combine honey, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and vanilla paste.  Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer for approximately 5 minutes (this is not the time to check your e-mail, call your grandmother, etc.  If the honey boils over there will be a sticky disastrous mess.  Luckily, this didn't happen to me today but it was close).

resist the temptation to eat this on its own

Stir honey mixture with kamut mixture and press into a oiled 13 x 9 inch baking pan (I like silicone best for this).

turn onto cutting board

Let cool.  Cut into bars or roll into balls.  Oiling your knife and/or hands is helpful.

cut into bars or roll into balls

While I have been trying to avoid thinking about lesson planning, curriculum, etc.  I am very excited to be organizing a running club for my elementary school this year.  I found a very cool website www.runforlife.ca that has tonnes of resources that are definately worth checking out.