Last weekend, Dr. Carin and I had the pleasure of attending a Meet & Greet at The Gardens, a residential complex across the street from Brio Clinic.
Photo courtesy of Audrie L.
Seeing as it was a potluck, we did not want to arrive empty handed. We brought a gift basket of goodies to raffle off as well as dozens of Brio Glow Bars (recipe below) to share. Throughout the afternoon, we were available to answer questions and provide general information about naturopathic medicine and the other services our clinic offers.
Brio strives to help our community achieve vibrant health by not only serving individual patients but also contributing to the wider wellbeing of the neighbourhoods we live and work in. We want to help you and your extended network of family, friends, and familiar faces achieve your health goals to create a better place for all to live!
Please contact the Clinic if you’d like a naturopathic doctor to attend your next community event or do a custom health talk.
Thanks again to the residents of Dahlia and Calla for hosting us and sharing in such a lively afternoon filled with delicious food, colour, and connection!
Brio Glow Bars – it only takes 15 mins. to create these chewy yet crunchy allergy-friendly vegan energy bars
- Gluten-free, Nut-free
- No bake, option for No refined sugar
This recipe was adapted from the Oh She Glows Classic Glo Bars (Angela Liddon, 2014). Click here for the original recipe, which includes full directions.
B – brown rice syrup
R – rice crisps, raisins, rosewater*
I – icing sugar*
O – old-fashioned oats (GF)
A BRIO base glowing with sunflower butter, honey, hemp seeds / hearts, unsweetened shredded coconut, chia seeds, sesame seeds, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sea salt, and blue food colouring*
*ingredients for an optional last step to make the bars more fun and attractive
This recipe makes makes 12 full bars or 24 snack bars
BRIO Glow Bars
Prep time: 15 minutes
Freeze time: 10 minutes
Shopping List
- 1 1⁄2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 1⁄4 cups rice crisp cereal (any puffed grain will do)
- 1⁄4 cup hemp seeds (aka hemp hearts)
- 1⁄4 cup sunflower seeds (raw, unsalted)
- 1⁄4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (substitute with more of the other seeds where allergy exists)
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, brown rice syrup
- 3 tbsp sunflower seed butter (if using sweetened sunflower butter (e.g., Sunbutter) replace the 1 tbsp honey below with an extra 1 tbsp sweetened sunflower butter)
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1⁄4 cup small raisins (or dried currents, cranberries, etc.)
Optional (if you prefer a sweeter bar)
- 1/4 cup icing sugar (sifted)
- 1.5 – 2 tsp rosewater or any kind of mylk (even plain water will do)
- few drops of food colouring
? Tip 1: All these ingredients are available organically at The Soap Dispensary & Kitchen Staples in Vancouver where you can bring your own containers from home (to avoid single use containers) and only buy the amount you need!
For Directions, click here. I made the following changes, but you can stay true to the original if you wish:
- ¼ sunflower seed butter in place of roasted nut butter
- ¼ cup raisins in place of mini chocolate chips
Optional last step: While the bars are freezing, prepare the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the icing sugar, rosewater, and food colouring (1-2 drops at a time) until smooth, adding more or less liquid to achieve desired colour and consistency. Drizzle with the glaze or transfer into a piping bag with a fine tip for a tighter design.
- Cut the smallest tip off the bottom corner of a sandwich bag to create a makeshift piping bag. For a clean design, always squeeze icing from the top and steady the bag with your non-dominant hand.
? Tip 2: Use a silicon baking mat (e.g., Silplat) instead of parchment paper (most kinds are coated with silicon and not recyclable). Just place a large cutting board on top of the finished squares, carefully slide the edge of the pan off the counter onto a flat outstretched palm and firmly sandwich the top of the board with the other hand before inverting the whole thing back on to the counter. Do not cut directly on the silicon mat.
?Tip 3: Instead of wrapping the bars individually cut them to the size of your own reusable container. Keep the extra bars in the fridge / freezer and restock the portable container as needed to reduce the amount of packaging waste – one of the many benefits of making your own energy bars!
In Health,
Dr. Vanessa
