Hi Kathryn. The breakfast bars sound so easy to make and yet so filling too. The perfect food really.

I have enclosed a recipe from the “Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat” talk that I went to a while ago. They had tastings of all the recipes they demonstrated and this one was my favourite. At this time of year I also thought that these “Tahini Balls” make a much healthier alternative to the traditional Rum Balls.

They say to use “light tahini”. I’m guessing that would be hulled tahini Kathryn, don"t you think?

Tahini Balls

1/2 cup light tahini
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup LSA
1 cup dried apricot pieces (or fruit mixture of your choice)
1/4 cup chopped almonds

Mix all ingredients together to make a stiff mixture. Use more coconut if necessary. Shape into balls with wet hands and roll in coconut or LSA. Refrigerate. Also good to freeze.

Thanks for posting this recipe Mariana. They look really good – a healthy and filling little sweet snack. We’re having a Christmas party in a few weeks and I might add these to the menu.

I agree – light tahini would be hulled.

Kathryn, your bars look great! Tahini sounds like a wonderful addition!

Thanks for the recipe Cassie – I’m finding them an immensely useful food to have around.

These bars sound fantastic – how many calories do you think each would be though?

Sue I’ve never worked it out. I’ll probably be making some more at the weekend, so I’ll weigh out the ingredients, do the calculations and report back.

I made these last night….well kind of…I didn’t have dates so I stewed some prunes and frozen cherries, I only had wholemeal plain flour so used that, I used brazil nuts, oats, pepitas and sesame seeds. Had for breakfast this morning with a banana soy smoothie and didn’t need to eat until 1.30pm. Thanks :) love the tahini moderation.

Catherine – your bars sound delicious. Prunes and frozen cherries with brazil nuts. How absolutely scrummy.

And a bar with a banana smoothie is a very nutrient dense meal. Just think of all the different food groups you’re getting in on breakfast. Good work.

WOW, I was looking around for info on hummus and tahini, and I’m happy to have stumbled on this little site – the breakfast bars sound delicious, I hope to make and share them at my Chiropractoir’s office!
Since menopause and all the hormonal commotion lots of things have changed in my body and I am actively seeking new components to my diet to replace all the wheat, corn, white potatoes and dairy I used to enjoy.

Patty: thanks for your comment and welcome to Limes & Lycopene. I make variations on these bars a lot and find them really useful. Lots and lots of lovely phyto-estrogens in these bars as well – which are beneficial in menopause. Adding more variety to your diet is going to benefit your health in so many ways. Good luck with it.

I love this recipe, my partner and I had these bars all week! But how many bars should this recipe yield? (Within a weight loss eating plan)

Hi there Desci, so glad to hear you like the recipe. How much of the recipe you should eat, within a weight loss plan, really depends on what else you are doing. If you refer to the original recipe on Cassie’s site, they’re cut into 15 bars. And I’ve included the nutritional breakdown for each bar above.

Great, thanks so much!

Ah hah! I knew if I hung around here long enough I’d find something like this. I’m always on the look out for snacks that are good just before, during, or just after a ride. I’ll try this one but I might try some variations with maybe less nuts to lower the fat content. Thanks again Kathryn!

Kylie, these are really good. Take a look at the originals on Cassie’s site for more ideas, she’s made them in a number of different ways. Cassie’s original recipe uses flaxseeds, instead of the tahini as well. Let me know if you do make them, and the variations you try out. Always interested to hear what people are cooking!

It seems Cassie’s recipe links do not work. Can you provide the instructions for making these? i.e. Are they baked? Hoping to make them for a backpacking trip!

Anne, here are the instructions for making the bars:

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 25cm square baking pan.

Cook the dates: Put the dates and water in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened. Set aside to cool slightly for 15 minutes. Add the tahini and stir to combine.

Make the bars: Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the date and tahini mix. Stir to combine.

To cook the bars: Pour the mixture into the baking pan, pressing down so it’s evenly spread. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes, until the bars are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, before cutting into 15 bars.

The breakfast recipe of fruit, nut and tahini bars looks really appetizing! Being quite rich with dried fruits and nuts, I am sure it must be really tasty! I didn’t know what tahini was though I use sesame in a lot of other recipes!! That was new information to me – will keep it in mind and pass on this useful information!! Thought it must be very rich – the nutritional break down seems to say otherwise – should be ideal as a snack too!!

Hi Kathryn, do you know how long these keep and if they are able to be frozen once cooked? I would like to make a batch and then defrost them as I need them… as I wouldn’t want to eat all 15 of the bars in a few days! well, I would, and that’s the problem! ;-)

Hi there Marnie, yes you can freeze these once they’re cooked. In fact that’s what I always do – make a batch and then package them away in the freezer, so they’re available when I need them.

Kathryn, I would like to use the tahini breakfast bar recipe, I am not able to follow the like you have to cassie’s veggie meal plans.
Could you post the whole recipe including the method used to cook combine etc. Or could you email the whole recipe to my email address please? Thank you Tracey Coluzzi spirits-dreaming@bigpond.com

Hi there all, I realise that the method I’ve linked to is no longer available. However, I’ve included my instructions in a comment above.

Hi – I have just found your blog – its great!! I love healthy food and eat clean 95% of the time (occasional treats). I’m a runner & i find good nutrition really helps my running- thanks – there is so much info !