Health(ier) Brown Rice Krispy Treats

I love teaching cooking classes, but my hands-down favorite class to teach is the unrefined sweeteners class of my Natural Foods Training. Healthy desserts made with natural sweeteners and nutrient dense ingredients–what’s not to love?

We always have an interesting discussion about using unrefined sugars and also the place that sugar has in our diets. In the last class, one participant asked of the oatmeal cookies made with date sugar, “Are these really better for me to eat than cookies made with regular sugar?”

Good question. I consider unrefined sugar to be a healthiest vs. healthier choice. Eating a cookie is NOT the healthiest snack choice. However, if you decide that you want to have a cookie, eating one made with unrefined sugar with some nutritional value, like brown rice syrup (one of my favorite liquid sweeteners) or date sugar (one of my favorite granulated sweeteners) is a healthier choice to make. I encourage people to start making healthy treats at home—it is much easier to control the type and amount of sweetener used.

To get you started, here’s a simple, gluten-free rice krispy treat made with brown rice syrup. The Healthiest choice? No, but healthier than a goodie prepared with white sugar or most store-bought treats?  You bet.

Brown Rice Krispy Treats

1/4 cup almond butter

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup coconut oil

Melt ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from heat and add:

3 cups brown rice krispies

1 cup chopped almonds

Press into greased pan and cool for 15-20 minutes.

Hope you have a SWEET day!

~Chef Jenny

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