Gluten-free quinoa and fruit energy bars

If you like quinoa, then these quinoa energy bars are for you! After making great cereal bars with oats, I was eager to come up with a second cereal bars, but this time gluten-free and with loads of fruits. There are raisins, cranberries, dates, apples, coconut, pistachios, and many nuts.

These quinoa and fruit bars are great as snack at work or outdoors: I take a quinoa bar with me when skiing and I can last a full day without stopping for lunch. Try them, they're excellent (they even get better with time) and you can store them in the fridge for many days. Ah, and you can prepare these energy bars with your favorite kind of quinoa :-)

Recipe of quinoa and fruit energy bars

3.6 dl well-to-over-cooked quinoa
1.3 dl pecan nuts, finely chopped
0.3 dl sunflower seeds, finely chopped
1 dl pistachios, chopped
1.2 dl shredded coconut
4 tbsp flax seeds, roughly ground in a mortar
0.8 dl raisins
0.8 dl cranberries
6 medjool dates
1/2 apple*
1 dl almond butter/purée
0.6 dl honey
2 tbsp canola oil**

Combine dates, apple, almond butter, honey and oil in a bowl and blend until smooth (if you have a food processor use that, if not chop up dates and apple very finely and crush in a mortar). Mix dry ingredients (quinoa, nuts, dried fruit) in another bowl. Add wet viscous mix to dry ingredients and mix until a sticky mix. Transfer to a baking pan lined with parchment paper: 16x25cm if you want them thick (I did this) or a bigger pan if you want your bars thinner. Bake in the oven 30 min at 175 C until golden and a bit crunchy. Let the mix cool in the pan, then remove and cut into bars. Store in the fridge in an airtight box or in cellophane wrap.

*you can replace the apple with a ripe half banana

**you can use coconut oil if you prefer