Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars

The Birthday of Saint John the Baptist from Saints: A Year in Faith and Art
There is a great recipe for Grasshopper Parfaits in the archives here at Catholic Cuisine. After making them for the rest of my family, I decided to try and find something that I could enjoy as well for our celebration on the Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist since I've been on a strict Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet for the past four months.  These Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars were perfect and tasted amazing! Cocoa Powder is not on the AIP list of approved foods and it had been a while (113 days to be exact) since I had eaten any chocolate, but so far I haven't noticed any adverse reactions and am hoping that it can remain in my diet as an occasional treat.  This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, seed-free, nut-free and makes a delicious option for those looking for a healthy dessert!


St. John the Baptist, martyred for defending the law of purity, drew strength from his austere and penitential life in the desert. Here is a delicious (and nutritious!) recipe for Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars to serve on this Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, recalling Matthew 3:4: “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.”


Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars
adapted from Raia's Recipes

Ingredients:

Mint Layer

  • 1 large avocado
  • 1/4 cup organic raw honey 
  • 6 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 1 1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (or a few drops of peppermint oil for AIP)
  • dash of salt (I used Real Salt.)


Chocolate Layer




Directions:

Mint Layer
1. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with foil.
2. Place all ingredients in high powered blender (I used my Vitamix) or a food processor. Blend until smooth.
3. Smooth mixture into prepared dish and stick in the freezer while you prepare the chocolate layer.


Chocolate Layer
1. In small saucepan, melt coconut oil and honey over low heat.
2. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Pour over chilled bottom layer and return to the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the chocolate layer is hardened.
4. Remove from foil and cut into bars.
5. Store covered in the freezer.

Makes approximately 8 servings


Note: These would also make a healthy green treat for St. Patrick's day in March! 


Saint John the Baptist, pray for us! 

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11 comments:

  1. Amazing! Thank you for sharing. St. John the Baptist, pray for us. :)

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  2. Oh my gosh, this is awesome. What a symbolic combinations of ingredients.

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  3. Thank you so much! I am gluten and dairy free, and often find it difficult to find liturgical meals and treats that I can make. Not being creative enough to make my own receipes means I often don't bother. I would love to see more of this type of thing. God bless.

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  4. Me too. Great there are some healthier options here. I am gluten free (and currently dairy and egg free but working to get those back in). Great to have natural honey in the recipe. I feel we are overfeeding our kids with unhealthy treats when there are healthier and still tasty options out there. So great to have them on this great website.

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  5. THANK YOU!! Finally a grain-free dessert posted that I can use and enjoy for our GAPS family!! Mmmmm!!

    Oh, and way to go, Jessica!
    -Marisa

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  6. I would love to know more about your AIP diet and the foods you are eating!

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  7. This looks so yummy. Do you have any idea of the carb count? I suppose I could work it out myself, but I'm lazy. Especially if someone else has done it already. Gluten free here too. But, also low carb.

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    1. I'm sorry. I don't have any idea of the carb count. It's not something I track on the AIP diet. I hope you were able to easily figure it out!

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  8. These look amazing. Looking forward to trying them.yum! yum!

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  9. Please! Can you add a "print recipe" button to all your amazing posts! I love this site and use it frequently and tell many people about it. Thank you.

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