One of Our Favorite Primal Recipes

I just did a blog post about our fitness journey and how we've begun to Primal eating style as created and explained by Mark Sisson at Mark's Daily Apple.

As I sit here munching on a primal energy bar, I thought I should share this recipe with the world. Deek and I are CRAZY over it! Just this morning, we fake argued over them. We only had four slivers left, and wanting to be a generous wife to my overly generous husband, I offered him all four. He said he wanted to leave me some because we love them so much. I insisted. He insisted. Finally, he took two out and put them in a bag for him and left me the other too. That man is just beyond thoughtful!

<swoon>

Here's the original recipe from Mark's site: Primal Energy Bars

But Deek and I have made some modifications, so here's our recipe:

Deek and Erin's Modified Primal Energy Bars

Ingredients: (We usually double the recipe)

1/2 cup Trader Joe's Omega Trek Mix (I pick out the cranberries--they mess up the flow of the food)
1/2 cup Trader Joe's crushed pecans
1 scoop of Warrior Blend chocolate protein powder (I'm allergic to milk and soy)
1/4 cup homemade cashew butter
1/4 cup Trader Joe's coconut oil 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of raw honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Method:

1. Pour nuts into a food processor. Pulse until nuts are chopped and the mixture becomes coarsely ground.
2. On a cookie sheet, toast nuts until golden brown. I set the oven to 350 and let them toast for about 10 minutes.
3. In a mixing bowl, melt coconut oil and coconut butter. I do 30 seconds for 1 batch and 45 seconds for a double batch. Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.
4. Add vanilla extract, honey and sea salt. Mix thoroughly.
5. Add protein powder. Mix thoroughly. Fold in nut mixture and mix.
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and pour mixture onto that.
7. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.
8. Cut into squares or strips.
9. Enjoy! If you don't plan to eat immediately, put them in a sealed container and keep in the refrigerator. 

If you drink black coffee, I recommend taking a bite of primal energy bar then taking a sip of coffee. Your mind will be blown! Holy wow!

If you're looking for a non-dairy, non-soy, or vegan alternative to standard protein powder, one with the appropriate balance of amino acids, I recommend this one. My former trainer, Leo, had me bring in nearly every kind of non-dairy protein powder on the market, and he gave a big ole "no" to every single one of them except this one. He said only Warrior Blend had the right balance for muscle development. That worked for me because of all the ones I tried, I liked the flavor of this one the best. Oh, and I just had to reorder and discovered it qualifies for Amazon's 1 Day Free Shipping for Prime Members!! WOOT!

And since you've probably often seen me in photos with my "Pizza is Life" shirt, here's a primal idea to be able to nosh on your much loved pizza!

Chicken Pizza Crust Recipe

The Friday night favorite at our house!

Do you have primal recipes you enjoy? If so, I'd love to hear them!