Tastes like fall spirit

It's that time of year again; time to revisit another scrumptious recipe from the Natural Zing archives. You may recall the kabob post I tried/photographed at the end of the summer, which was the first in the series.

Today, we'll be taking a bite out of fall with these satisfying "On-The-Go Crispy Treats." I had hoped to incorporate this recipe into my Halloween post, but unfortunately, time got the best of me. If you have the ingredients already on hand, you're in luck, as these treats are perfect for little ghosts and goblins. Otherwise, this one still works well throughout the fall season and the rest of the year.

On-The-Go Crispy Treats are simple to make, not to mention being a real crowd-pleaser. I, myself, remember snacking on these treats at a Natural Zing potluck a while back, so you can imagine how excited I was to find out they would be the next recipe featured in the "From the Archives" series. Yahoo!

The base is Lydia's Organic Cinnamon Cereal, which cuts out all the soaking, sprouting and dehydrating time (it contains sprouted buckwheat, sunflower seeds, quinoa, pumpkin seeds and almonds). It's mixed with both carob and mesquite powders, which together taste similar to chocolate, but without all the caffeine. The combination complements the cinnamon in the cereal, giving it that warming fall flavor.

The treats are bound and sweetened with coconut oil and agave nectar, although you could always make them with nut/seed butter and another liquid sweetener. You can also play around with the cereal base (Lydia's Organics makes a variety of other cereal flavors, as well as bars, crackers and breads) and dry ingredients (try combos of cocoa, lucuma, spirulina, acai, camu camu and other powders). Don't be afraid to experiment and post your results.


On-The-Go Crispy Treats
2 cups Lydia's Organics Sprouted Cinnamon Cereal
1/2 cup carob powder
1/4 cup mesquite powder
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 Tbsp. agave nectar

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients (cereal, carob and mesquite). Stir with a whisk to break up any lumps (this step is not in the original recipe, but I felt it was necessary, as the powders tend to clump; you could also opt to sift them before adding to the bowl).

Stir together the coconut oil and agave in a smaller dish. Add to the dry ingredients, and stir to combine (I used my clean dry hands for this step, which absorbed some of the oil, an excellent moisturizer for this time of year. As a result, I added more coconut oil to achieve the correct consistency).

Using wax paper, form the mixture into a 1/2-inch thick square (I molded mine in a parchment-lined baking dish). Then, place in freezer for 1 hour.

Remove from freezer, cut into squares and serve.

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Shannonmarie, a.k.a. "Rawdorable," also posts on her blog of the same name, http://rawdorable.blogspot.com/.