More Peas, Thank You

I’m a bit of a cookbook hoarder. My collection is kind of ridiculous,

Cookbooks 1

(one of the 3 designated cookbook spots in the house)

and every time I’m in a bookstore, I have to convince myself to walk away from yet another cookbook. That is, unless I know the author’s lovely face. That’s always a reason to add something new to the collection.

 

More Peas Thank You

My good friend Sarah just released her second cookbook, More Peas, Thank You, and I was so stoked when her publisher offered to send me a copy.

I loved her last book, and just like the previous one, this new version is packed with heartwarming stories, gorgeous food photographs, mouthwatering recipes, and an emphasis on plant-based real foods. As a fellow mama endeavoring to make whole, healthy meals for her family, I can always use Sarah’s recipes as inspiration, especially when it comes to dinners.

I’ve already made a couple of recipes from her cookbook, and am so excited to share this one with you today. I saw it on the pages and had to make it, even though it was 11pm and we’re going through a nut shortage at our house.

ChocCherryBarsb

I was determined to try out the cherry cashew bars, and frantically scoured the cabinets searching for an adequate peanut replacement:

Pretzels  1 of 1

pretzel sticks. Crunchy… salty… sure, why not?

This small substitution was a wise choice indeed. These bars were a perfect sweet and savory treat!

Bars  1 of 1

I also skipped the chocolate because bags of chocolate chips don’t live long in our house 🙂 They were perfect without the chocolate drizzle- we all loved them!

Bars  1 of 1 2

Hope you do, too 🙂

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Cherry Cashew Bars

Makes 12 bar

Ingredients:

parchment paper, to line baking sheet

3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds (or approximately 2 tablespoons whole flaxseeds before grinding)

1/2 C maple syrup or honey (or a mixture of the two)

1 t salt

1 cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup peanuts,, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup cashew pieces

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8 -inch baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, combine ground flaxseed and sweetener. Mix well and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine salt, almonds, peanuts, cashews and cherries. Pour flaxseed-syrup mixture over nuts and cherries and stir until evenly coated.

4. Spread nut mixture on the baking sheet evenly, from corner to corner.

5. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until nuts are slightly brown and edges are crisp. The nut layer will be soft but will harden upon cooling.

6. Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave or over a double boiler. Drizzle chocolate over almost cooled layer. Chocolate will be wet but will set upon cooling.

7. When nut layer and chocolate have set, pull parchment paper from baking sheet and set bars on a flat cutting surface. Cut nut layer into 12 equal squares, and store in an airtight container. Bars will stay especially crunchy if you refrigerate them.

Nutrition information per serving: 210 calories, 12 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, <5 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 17 g sugar, 5 g protein, vitamin A 0%, vitamin C 0%, calcium 4%, iron 6%

Hope you’re enjoying your week! <3

xoxo

Gina

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24 Comments

  1. Ashley on April 11, 2013 at 4:49 pm

    These look amazing and I think the pretzel style is a little bit more my taste anyways! Thanks!

  2. Anjali on April 11, 2013 at 4:51 pm

    That looks delicious! Anything with chocolate and pretzels is a winner in my book!

  3. Bri on April 11, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    You have me interested… what are your all time fav cookbooks that you own?

  4. Bri on April 11, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    You have me interested… what are your all time fav cookbooks that you own?

    • Fitnessista on April 12, 2013 at 2:50 pm

      oh my gosh, there are so many!
      eat drink and be vegan
      canyon ranch nourish
      delicious disney
      eating local
      babycakes
      cooking for isaiah
      just to name a few!

  5. Emily on April 11, 2013 at 5:00 pm

    Ooh, that’s leaving me with a major sweet/salty craving. Brilliant substitution, I would never have thought to sub in pretzels for peanuts. Looks divine!

  6. Nina @ Too Hottie For That Body on April 11, 2013 at 5:06 pm

    Holy mother of salty nutty goodness! I’m going to have to give this one a shot. By the way I have a one year old and I’m not so sure I play into the hype about allergenic foods. Did you play by the rules when you introduced your daughter to food. Waiting until she’s five to give her her first PB&J just seems un-
    American.

  7. Danielle on April 11, 2013 at 5:21 pm

    These look so great and I love the addition of pretzels to the mix! I’m a bit of a cookbook hoarder myself but they have definitely all come in handy at some point!

  8. Lisa on April 11, 2013 at 5:47 pm

    These look so great!
    I love my cookbooks, but I honestly hardly ever make recipes from them, I like reading them but find that online is so much easier. Oops.

  9. Allison @ Train Eat Repeat on April 11, 2013 at 6:05 pm

    Dang that looks good!

  10. Sara @ fitcupcaker on April 11, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    These looks amazing. I want this cookbook!

  11. Ashley @ Life and Fitness on April 11, 2013 at 7:20 pm

    I love Caro hiding in the background hehe

  12. Karissa on April 11, 2013 at 7:44 pm

    These sound SCRUMPTIOUS!! Anything with chocolate + crunchy = AMAZING!

  13. Kelly @ Femme Fitale on April 11, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    aaaand THAT is on my weekend baking list! Thank you! 🙂

  14. Veterinarianess on April 11, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    Those look delicious! 😀

  15. Danica @ It's Progression on April 11, 2013 at 10:23 pm

    These looks so good…I can’t wait for the book to get to me! I absolutely loved the first one too.

  16. Ali on April 12, 2013 at 12:00 am

    I seriously love you both so much. Your bars look great! <3 <3 <3

  17. Kim on April 12, 2013 at 12:04 am

    Funny – I’m a cookbook hoarder, too!
    The worst thing is when I buy a cookbook and then get home and realize I already have that one. (a lucky friend always benefits!!)

  18. kt h on April 12, 2013 at 1:17 am

    Yum. Using pretzels probably decreased the density of the bars as well, which is beneficial when it’s impossible to stop at one serving. 🙂

  19. Bek @ Crave on April 12, 2013 at 7:19 am

    These look delicious!

  20. Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin on April 12, 2013 at 7:57 am

    I love your idea to swap in pretzels!

    I’m a cookbook hoarder too. I need to start using them more instead of always turning to the internet for recipes!

  21. Heidi on April 12, 2013 at 9:37 am

    These bars look awesome- thanks so much for including the nutrition info 🙂

  22. Sarah @ Yogi in Action on April 12, 2013 at 9:47 am

    I want those immediately! Looks great.

    It’s crazy how many bloggers have been posting about their cookbook collection lately. Clearly bloggers love food 🙂

  23. Michele on April 14, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    These sound great and the preztel version will have much lower NI. Did you substitute the same amount of pretzets as the recipe calls for in nuts?

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