Ironman Coco-Nut Bars

I got this recipe from my friend Etown who lives down in Texas. Her boyfriend, B, is super into triathlons. Mostly because he’s super good at triathlons.

He recently took part in an Ironman Triathlon out in California. To fuel himself through the race, he made some of his own granola bars, the recipe for which he was kind enough to share with moi.  They’re similar to Kind bars–all nuts, coconut, flax seeds and honey. Naturally sweet, grain-free goodness.

Homemade Ironman Coco-Nut Bars

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp flax seeds

1/2 cup raw honey

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup dried apricots

1 Tbsp goji berries

Preheat your oven to 350F. If you’re at my house, make sure that you have your water bottle fan handy. My kitchen gets H-O-T.

Grind your 2 Tbsp of flax seeds into a fine meal.

Pour the flax meal into a small bowl and add your sea salt and your honey.

I used some raw honey from Arizona that I picked up at the farmer’s market a few weeks ago. This honey is really high quality organic honey–I probably would have used some regular quality honey, but I was fresh out.

This stuff is amazing. “Premium raw honey produced sustainably by Dee Lusby.” Dee and her late husband Ed are basically the pioneers of sustainable, non-chemical bee keeping.

Mix your honey and your flax meal together and set aside.

Coarsely chop your apricots,

and your almonds.

Add them to a large bowl along with your coconut and goji berries.

There were no goji berries in the original recipe, but I decided to add them in for some extra antioxidants.

Coconut flakes are pretty gorgeous, huh?

Add the honey/flax mixture to the coco-nut mixture,

and stir until everything is evenly coated.

Then, press the mix into an 8×8 in baking pan that has been coated with oil. I used olive oil.

Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the center is browned and the sides are crispy.

Now, this is the trickiest part. You have to let the pan cool a little before cutting, but you can’t let it cool too much. To quote the original recipe: “If they are too warm, they will not
stay together (though you can press them back together), but if they are too cool, you’ll have to chisel them out. Like Goldilocks, they have to be just right.”

I waited about 15 minutes until I cut them and transferred them to a cooling rack. I waited another 30 seconds before I transferred one to my plate.

Dangerous.

The perfect mix of sweet and salty. I love the taste of baked coconut, so these are probably my favorite ever. They taste a lot like the granola I made a while ago, only stickier and more addictive.  I can totally see how these could fuel you through a million mile triathlon!

Thanks Etown and B!