Chef Linda
Linda Soper-Kolton, Chef, came to the Sanctuary as a guest chef to share her love of compassionate cooking in our then-fledgling culinary program. Lured by the magic of the Sanctuary, her love of animals and the urgency of our mission, Linda stayed on to lead and grow the culinary program, inspiring and educating with love, patience, and delicious food.
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Nutty Breakfast Bars
By Chef Linda
Even on weekends, most of us don't have time to linger over breakfast; we need to fuel up quickly for a busy day. One delicious and healthy way to do that is by using your favorite nuts, seeds and dried fruit to create your own version of a breakfast bar. Making it yourself allows you to control what goes in, and that means you'll look forward to eating it. The ratios below work well, but feel free to substitute different nuts or fruit. I added chocolate chips because any morning that starts with a little chocolate is bound to be a good one!Ingredients
1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
½ cup walnuts
½ cup hemp seeds
½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups pitted Medjool dates
½ cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons raw, unsalted almond butter
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
Directions
1
Place cashews, walnuts, hemp seeds, coconut and salt in a food processor. Pulse until nuts are chopped and mixture has the consistency of coarse sand. Empty ground nuts into a bowl and set aside.
Place dates, cranberries, almond butter, and coconut oil in the food processor and process until the dates and cranberries are broken down and everything is combined, but still has some texture. Add the nuts back into the processor and pulse to combine. Add chocolate chips and pulse again to combine. Mixture should be moist enough to hold together when pinched.
Line an 8-inch square baking pan and with parchment paper. Empty contents of food processor into the lined baking pan and firmly press down. Place pan in the fridge or freezer for several hours. Remove pan, carefully lift out parchment paper and cut into bars or squares. Best served chilled.
Notes
Nutty Breakfast Bars
16 (2 inch) squares
INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
½ cup walnuts
½ cup hemp seeds
½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups pitted Medjool dates
½ cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons raw, unsalted almond butter
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
DIRECTIONS
1
Place cashews, walnuts, hemp seeds, coconut and salt in a food processor. Pulse until nuts are chopped and mixture has the consistency of coarse sand. Empty ground nuts into a bowl and set aside.
Place dates, cranberries, almond butter, and coconut oil in the food processor and process until the dates and cranberries are broken down and everything is combined, but still has some texture. Add the nuts back into the processor and pulse to combine. Add chocolate chips and pulse again to combine. Mixture should be moist enough to hold together when pinched.
Line an 8-inch square baking pan and with parchment paper. Empty contents of food processor into the lined baking pan and firmly press down. Place pan in the fridge or freezer for several hours. Remove pan, carefully lift out parchment paper and cut into bars or squares. Best served chilled.