Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars

These chocolate coconut oat bars are my idea of a perfect Valentine’s Day treat. Trust me, your weekend needs these bars, Valentine’s Day or not.

Speaking of the weekend, I am so happy it’s Friday! It’s been a long week and I’m excited to finally get some time in the kitchen. Our last weekend was spent in Moncton as we were dog-sitting for my parents who were off to Montreal. My brother was competing in a track and field event, so all of my family was gone. For that reason, Shaun and I had the house to ourselves with Lola (our family dog). It felt so good to be back to our hometown for the weekend. We went to the Farmers’ Market, I went on a few walks with Lola and I visited one of my friends’ new place. We also celebrated the fact that I passed my dietetic exam by eating at our favorite fancy Italian restaurant and drank some wine with friends in my parents’ hot tub. I felt a little spoiled.

And yes, in case you missed that in my January favorites post, I passed my dietetic exam and I am now a registered dietitian! It’s SUCH a relief to be done with it. No more stress (I wish).

On top of that, I have so many blog/business goals this year and my full time job takes up most of my time. As if that weren’t enough, I also have my wedding to plan for September 2019… I think it’s safe to say that I’m pretty busy. But that’s okay, I like keeping myself busy and working towards my goals.

Now that you know a little more about what’s currently going on in my busy life, let’s talk about today’s recipe.

This recipe came to mind just in time for Valentine’s Day – although this could honestly be an everyday recipe. Chocolate just seems to be a popular Valentine’s Day ingredient, so I thought this recipe would be fitting for the occasion. You really don’t need an excuse to eat these bars though. If you’re like me, you’ll want to make them every week. That’s basically what I’ve been doing lately, but of course I was testing the recipe to share with you guys. I’m not complaining. I’ll never get tired of oat bars.

These oat bars remind me a little of my seriously addictive no-bake granola bars, but without as many seeds. They also remind me a little of my crumble bars. I basically took my favorite parts of each bar and made this perfect dessert as a result.

Just like all of my favorite desserts, these bars are sweetened with dates. They’re also packed with coconut, sunflower seeds, sunflower seed butter and vanilla. I used sunflower seed and sunflower seed butter as they are cheaper than nuts and it makes them allergy-friendly, but feel free to use your favorite nut or nut butter instead. I tried them with cashews once, but I haven’t tried other versions yet. Just use what you have on hand!

I then topped the bars with a thin layer of unsweetened chocolate. Again, use what you prefer. Unsweetened chocolate can be quite bitter in large quantity, so I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re used to sweeter chocolate or desserts. I would recommend a dark chocolate for most. I’m just at the point where I actually enjoy the bitterness of unsweetened chocolate, but I know that’s not the norm. And even then, a thick layer can overpower the sweetness of the oat bars. So bottom line is, stick to a thin layer of unsweetened chocolate OR choose a dark chocolate instead. Sprinkle with coconut flakes when the chocolate is still melted so that it sticks to it. You can also add some chopped Goji berries if desired for a pop of red. It makes it a little more special for Valentine’s Day, but it’s totally optional.

They’re perfectly healthy, yet indulgent. Not to mention that they’re gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan and nut-free! You could always bring them for a healthy Super Bowl treat… I know it’s not a typical Super Bowl treat, but sorry, I didn’t prepare for the occasion early enough to come up with a recipe… It doesn’t help that I don’t watch football, but for all of you who do, I hope you have a good Super Bowl weekend!

If you make these chocolate coconut oat bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!