Mood-Boosting Blueberry Chia Jam Crumb Bars (Paleo)
These Mood Boosting Blueberry Chia Jam Crumb Bars are gooey, slightly sweetened with maple sugar with hints of cardamom, orange and vanilla running through them. Easy to make, gluten free, grain free, dairy free and a total comfort food, that helps you feel amazing and fight depression!
I honestly wasn’t sure if blueberries would be a smart choice in the mist of pumpkin season but these blueberry chia jam crumb bars are insane. I love that while the colors are changing, these bright bars bring sunshine to my day. They are easy to make and bake up in no time making these cold fall mornings more pleasant and the perfect get out of bed tiptoe to the kitchen for a bar. Plus I have to admit that making these full of depression-fighting foods makes me feel even better about eating them.
BLUEBERRY CHIA JAM BARS
While I live for crisp fall mornings and even bitter cold winter mornings, I have to be very wary of falling down the depression rabbit hole. The days are shorter, there is less light and even as I type this blog post babes I am cuddled up on my bed, with Gilmore Girls on the background while I type away with drake cuddled next to me radiating heat, and a delicious piece of heaven in the form of these mood-boosting crumb bars. I sneak in chia seeds, walnuts, collagen, and a few other great ingredients to create a delicious feel-good snack. Or breakfast, I’ve been known to type away sneaking pieces of a bar until there is no more and then find myself sneaking another piece out of the baking dish and starting the cycle over again.
Just the sort of treat fall morning dreams are made of- full of spice, moist and packed to the brim with bursting blueberries- the latest in my collection of morning baked goods, can’t be missed. Made with almond flour, pure maple syrup, orange zest, vanilla, local eggs and lots of walnut cardamom crumb topping, it’s perfect for those frozen blueberries you snuck in the freezer. Or was that just me? Perfect alongside homemade lattes in the morning, or a mug of hot tea, I serve mine with copious amounts of homemade coconut yogurt and a mug of tea.
THOUGHTS
I love making chia jam as a great way to pack my fruit-filled treats with healthy omega 3 fats. Remember that 60% of our brain is made up of fat, similar to the ones found in omega 3 fatty acids. Chia seeds are also a complete protein, rich in fiber iron and manganese.
Manganese is a great anti-inflammatory and blood sugar regulator. Remember that have a balanced blood sugar is crucial to maintaining a balanced mood. Blood sugar spikes also cause spikes in your mood, with hints of anxiety, irritability and more. Manganese also helps with PMS symptoms like anxiety, cramping, mood swings, and depression. It also helps increase the production of collagen in our bodies.
I also added maca to these for its wonderful mood balancing and energizing health benefits.
I use grass-fed butter since it’s high in pregnenolone which is also a building block of our bodies hormones and it literally lifts our mood just like dopamine.
Mood-Boosting Blueberry Chia Jam Crumb Bars (Paleo)
INGREDIENTS FOR THE MOOD BOOSTING BLUEBERRY CHIA JAM BARS
crust
2 cups of cassava flour
2 tablespoons of tapioca starch
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
4 tablespoons of grass-fed butter, cut into pieces and cold
pinch of salt
mood-boosting walnut crumb topping
1/2 cup of walnuts
3/4 cup of almond flour or meal
2 tablespoons of tapioca starch
2 tablespoons of grass-fed butter
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of orange zest
1 teaspoon of each ground cinnamon, ground cardamom
pinch of salt
blueberry chia jam
3 cups of frozen or fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons of finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup of fresh orange juice
half a vanilla bean split, seeds scraped and added plus the pod * see note
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
2 scoops of collagen peptides (optional, I literally like to add this to everything for gut health)
1/4 cup of chia seeds
pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS FOR THE MOOD BOOSTING BLUEBERRY CHIA JAM BARS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line an 8 by 8 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large pot on medium-low heat, add all the ingredients of the blueberry chai jam but the chia seeds and cook for about 8 minutes, add the chia seeds and cook for an additional 5 minutes before turning off and setting aside.
Combine the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes. While baking, toss the crust ingredients together and with your hands crush the walnuts. You want to create a crumb topping and have some larger pieces of walnuts shine through.
Once the crust has baked pour the filling on top and drop the crumb topping across the top. Bake for 30 minutes and let cool completely before cutting and serving. Store in the fridge any leftovers.
notes: you can swap out the vanilla bean for 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, add it to the jam after you turn it off.
Let me know what you think of these Mood Boosting Blueberry Chia Jam Crumb Bars when you give this recipe a go! Drop a comment below, I love seeing what you guys think and seeing your recipes so don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on #FollowOurPassionStyle .!
