Today please welcome Kristina from Spabettie!
I’ve been following Kristina’s blog, Spabettie, for a loooong time, and have always been in awe of the creativity and versatility of her recipes (not to mention her amazing photos)! Kristina has a knack for creating recipes that marry sometimes unexpected ingredients, textures or colors, always resulting in a sum that is greater than its parts. To see what I mean, take a peek at her Tomato Basil Pasta with Kalamata Cream Sauce, Apricot Rosemary Cheesecake, Raspberry Jalapeno Chocolates, Spicy Thai “Totchos,” or Raw Caramel Apple Cobbler (are you drooling yet?).
Kristina and I connected years ago over social media, but it wasn’t until last year’s Vida Vegan Con that we finally met in person. And she is just as warm, funny and sweet in person as she appears on her blog! Not only do we both love flavorful vegan food–we also both have two fur babies that occasionally show up on our pages. Well, no wonder her recipe looks totally at home on this blog! I’ll let Kristina herself tell you about it. . .
Honored and excited am I, to be here for Ricki today! I have been an avid follower of Ricki and her pups for quite some time. Having met Ricki at Vida Vegan Con, and worked with her as a fellow Attune Ambassador, I have gotten to know Ricki better over the last year. She is such a positive presence, and really fun.
When Ricki asked for a guest post, I wanted to be around Valentines. Not only is it one of my favorite days of the year, I just happen to love desserts. I know Ricki does too, and immediately this recipe started forming in my head. These bars are soft but hold up very well, have just the right amount of sweet, and are the perfect red for Valentines.
Simple, yet so yummy. Happy Valentines Day!
Strawberry Hazelnut Bars
For the base:
1 cup (240 ml) raw hazelnuts
8 Medjool dates (1 cup–or use prunes for an ACD-friendly version)
2 tablespoons coconut flakes
1 tablespoon water, if needed
For the top layer:
3 cups (15 oz or 425 g) dried unsweetened strawberries
2 Tbsp (30 ml) brown rice syrup (for ACD, use agave nectar)
Line an 8×8 inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper.
In a food processor, pulse hazelnuts to a dry meal. Add dates and coconut, and continue to process until blended. If mixture is dry, add one tablespoon water to bind. Spread this mixture in an even layer in prepared pan. Set aside.
Rinse food processor. Pulse berries and syrup into a paste. Spread in an even layer over hazelnut-date layer. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or up to overnight.
Once set, remove from pan by lifting sides of parchment. Place on flat surface. Using sharp chef’s knife, cut into small squares. Makes 16-22 bars, depending on how large you cut them.
Suitable for: ACD Maintenance, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, vegan, raw.
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And if you’re looking for more healthy Valentine’s Day recipes, don’t forget that Naturally Sweet and Gluten-Free has more than 100 of them! How about chocolate mint truffles, chocolate layer cake, decadent Dalmatian cheesecake brownies, or heart-shaped chocolate shortbreads for your sweetie? And everything in the book is sweetened with low glycemic sweeteners like coconut sugar or stevia. Get your copy here.
Kristina is better known online as spabettie , where she shares vibrant plant based recipes, stories of her two dachshunds, Basil and Rosemary, and life in Vegan Mecca Portland Oregon. Find her on twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, as well as on spabettie.com.
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Hi! I'm Ricki, cookbook author, professional recipe developer, holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader. Let me show you how easy it is to eat plant-based, sugar-free, gluten free food that tastes great! 
these look great and very pretty – love spabettie’s recipes
Me, too! She is just so darned creative! 🙂
thank you Johanna!! XXO
These look wonderful, like everything Kristina makes. 🙂
Ricki – so glad to have found your blog. I’m going to check out the tempeh recipe Christa posted the other day!
Thanks so much, Laura! Delighted. And many thanks to Christa!! 😀 Let me know what you think if you do try it. 🙂
YAY! two of my favorites have found each other! 🙂
So cool that you got to meet…VVC needs to spin off satellites in other vegan-loving cities or take the VVC show on the road! 🙂
Kristina’s crazyamazing recipes are always irresistible…these bars look munchably delicious! I’d love to try cutting them with a heart cookie cutter, or maybe draw hearts on some squares and arrows on others with edible markers. Many thanks to you and Kristina…cheers!
What a fantastic idea, The Peace Patch! And yes, it *was* very cool to finally meet in person. I love your idea about the VVC spinoffs, too! It would make it a lot easier for me to get there more often. 🙂
I completely agree, how much fun would that be to see everyone more often!??!
Those bars look amazinnggg! Yum!
I think so, too, Sarah! 😀
thank you Sarah!!
These look so delicious, I’m looking forward to making them. This may be another wonderful snack for our Placer Pops rehearsals. Thanks so much for sharing all of the wonderful recipes and for your encouragement to stick with good foods!
Thanks so much, Marian! So glad you like them. Isn’t it great that “good for you” can also taste so good? 😀
to echo others those bars do look amazing. Do you have a good source for unsweetened strawberries? I have a very hard time finding unsweetened dried fruit where I live. Thanks.
Jacquie, I’d look in my local healthfood store over here (not sure where you are, but in the Toronto area, Ambrosia or Nature’s Emporium are two great places). I imagine you could also order them online? Places like iherb or nuts.com? Hope that helps!
yummo! they look totally delicious 🙂
I think so, too, Sandy!! But then everything Kristina makes is yummy, right? 😀
How pretty! Strawberry-hazelnut sounds wonderful.
it’s a pretty good combination! 🙂
Kristina is phenomenal! One day I hope to meet her in person, too! 🙂 These bars look exceptional and perfect for Valentine’s Day.
xo,
Shirley
oh Shirley I sure hope we do also! I think that we will! xxo
Is it freeze dried berries like the link in the recipe or regular dried? The freeze dried isn’t the right weight. Thanks.
Sorry, Shirleen, that may be MY error! I haven’t used dried strawberries before so wasn’t sure. I will check with Kristina and get back to you! 🙂