“I’ve officially polished off my ‘postpartum’ Glo Bar stash.” This is what I wrote on Snapchat early in September to accompany a photo of me gobbling up my last lonely bar from the freezer. I had overestimated my self-control at 9 months pregnant just a tad, thinking I could stock the freezer a month early with Glo Bars so I would have them handy to bring to the hospital and to enjoy once home. Fool! Here is my not-so-spoiler alert: I have zero self-control when there’s a food I love in the house. Obviously. So I made another couple batches (oh darn), only this time I waited until I was ready to pop (a.k.a.…right now).
I’m really excited to share this Glo Bar recipe today because not only is it crazy delicious and a cinch to throw together, but these bars contain ingredients that are thought to help boost milk supply in breastfeeding mamas (such as oats, flax, sesame, and coconut). Don’t worry, though, anyone can enjoy these bars. In fact, Eric assures me that his cup size hasn’t increased one bit since becoming a fan himself.
Another thing I love about these Glo Bars is that they are nut-free; when I was nursing Adriana in the early days, I suspected that when I ate nuts it caused her to be fussy. This can also be true for chocolate, so I purposely left that out of this recipe, as well (just in case). If nuts and chocolate aren’t an issue for you, though, feel free to tweak the mix-ins to your heart’s content. Another bonus of using seeds over nuts is that seeds tend to be a bit more wallet-friendly. This year, I’ve really gotten into using sunflower seeds for this very reason.
New Mama Glo Bars
Yield
12 bars
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
10 minutes
Total time
I created these Glo Bars with new mamas in mind, but rest assured that they can be enjoyed by all! These nut-free Glo Bars contain oats, ground flax, sesame seeds, and coconut oil, all of which are thought to help boost milk supply in breastfeeding women. They are a great no-bake bar to store in the freezer before baby arrives, too; I love to keep a stash in my freezer so I always have some on hand. I purposely made these bars nut- and chocolate-free because, in some cases, these foods can contribute to fussy breastfed babies (of course, every baby is different—tweak as you see fit!). But it also makes them a great nut-free option for after-school snacks, too!
Ingredients
For the dry ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) gluten-free rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (25 g) gluten-free rice crisp cereal
- 1/4 cup (40 g) white sesame seeds*
- 1/4 cup (40 g) pepita seeds*
- 1/4 cup (30 g) ground flaxseed
- 1/3 cup (45 g) dried cranberries or dried cherries**
- 2 tablespoons (12 g) unsweetened dried shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt or fine sea salt
For the wet ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) brown rice syrup***
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (63 g) unsweetened sunflower seed butter****
- 1/2 tablespoon (7.5 mL) coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Line a 9-inch square pan with a piece of parchment paper. I like to leave some overhang so the bars are easy to lift out after freezing.
- In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (oats, cereal, sesame seeds, pepita seeds, ground flaxseed, dried fruit, coconut, cinnamon, and salt).
- Add the brown rice syrup into a small pot over low heat. Stir in the maple syrup, sunflower seed butter, and coconut oil until combined. When the mixture is warm and runny remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla.
- Immediately pour the brown rice syrup mixture over the dry ingredients (I use a spatula to scoop every last drop!) and with a large metal spoon, stir until the oats are fully coated in the syrup mixture. This can take some elbow grease, but we don’t want any dry patches, so mix well.
- Scoop the mixture into the prepared pan and spread out evenly. I like to lightly wet my hands and use them to spread the mixture out. Grab a small pastry roller if you have one, and roll the mixture until even and smooth. Or, simply press down firmly with your hands—the more you pack down the mixture the better the bars hold together. Using your fingertips, press the mixture downward along the edges to create straight edges.
- Place the pan in the freezer, uncovered, for about 10 to 15 minutes until the bars firm up enough to slice. Remove the slab and place on a cutting board. With a pizza slicer, slice the bars into 12 equal bars.
- Wrap each bar separately in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze the wrapped bars in a freezer-safe zip bag for 4 to 6 weeks. The bars will firm up when chilled. You can let them sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes before enjoying, if desired.
Tip:
- * These bars are great with toasted sesame and pepita seeds, as well as raw.
- ** To make the bars look extra colourful, like in the photo, I like to scatter the dried cranberries on top (along with a handful of pepitas) before pressing the mixture into the pan.
- *** There are no substitutes for brown rice syrup unfortunately. I've tested all different liquid sweeteners and nothing else binds the bars enough.
- **** Organic Sunbutter (smooth) is my go-to store-bought brand. Make sure it's silky smooth and not dry and hard.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
By the way, a batch or two of these bars would make a great gift for a mama-to-be!
Last but not least, I’d like to share another roundup of #osgeveryday blog tour posts. A huge thanks to these talented bloggers for all their support! Be sure to check out the links below for recipe sneak peeks, giveaways, and fun Q+As.
Edible Perspective (Ash dishes on the behind the scenes of shooting the book!)
These are absolutely delicious! This is my first time using one of your recipes and it certainly won’t be the last! The sunflower seed butter is also delicious thank you for sharing. I will be making and freezing these for school lunches.
Happy Aussie Mum ????
I’m so happy you liked the recipe, Carolyn! I hope you enjoy whatever recipe of mine you decide to try next just as much. :)
Thanks Angela! Today is my due date and my little guy seems very content to stay put, so I decided to make this to go along with all my other food prep, including a few of your soups. These are fantastic and since you said sesame seeds are thought to boost milk supply I used tahini in place of sun butter and they are still quite tasty!!!
Hey Colette, I’m glad you’re liking the bars! Congratulations on your pregnancy – I hope you meet your little guy soon, and wish you and your family all the best. :)
I LOVE these bars! I made them and tried to give some to my college student daughter and my husband was scared there wouldn’t be any for him! I make a few pans and load up the freezer my entire family loves them!
These bars are fantastic, although I find them a bit too sweet for me. I wonder if they would still hold together if I reduced the rice syrup, or if there’s another way to reduce the sweetness a little bit.
Hi Beth, I totally hear what you’re saying about the sweetness! I worry that reducing the rice syrup would leave the bars a bit crumbly and falling apart, so I think I’d suggest cutting back on the maple syrup (or maybe omitting it altogether) instead. Also, make sure your sunflower seed butter or nut butter is unsweetened, as that should help, too. You might be able to swap out a tablespoon of rice syrup with a tablespoon of nut/seed butter too. If you experiment a bit, I’d love to know what you find works.
Thanks for the tip! You’re right, my sunflower butter was sweetened. I tried the recipe again without the maple and I substituted unsweetened almond butter because I don’t have access to ready-made unsweetened sunflower butter. It was perfect! This recipe will definitely become a go-to snack for us!
Wonderful! So happy to hear the modifications were a success!
These are so good! I am expecting, my sister in law just had a baby and I have 4 close friends expecting over the summer so I will be making this again and again!
So glad they’re a hit, Jennifer! Congrats to you on your pregnancy (as well as to your friends, hah), and to your sister-in-law on the new little one. :)
Delicous! I’m feeding two babies right now… my newborn and my 18 month old! That’s my excuse for eating all of the granola bars in a few days… Hubby loves them too. He takes them to work for a snack. I make a double batch now that I know how fast they disappear in my house!
They are sweet enough without the maple syrup though, although it does add a nice flavor. I’ve made these according to the recipe and they get five stars. I’ve also made them w/ added chia seeds, hemp hearts, sunflower seeds and whatever other random seeds I have around the house.
Thank you!
I’m so happy you’re enjoying the bars, Emily. Congrats on your growing family!!
Hi! My son has a gluten, egg and dairy allergy, and your website and books are such a great help. Thanks for the wonderful recipes! I was wondering if it would be possible to substitute dates for the brown rice syrup? Thanks so much.
Hey Sheileen, I’m so happy you are all enjoying the recipes! Thanks :) As for using dates in this recipe, I haven’t tried it myself, but I do know that dates are a fantastic binder. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work (with some experimentation, if you’re up for it). Happy baking!
Those bars look delicious! It’s a bit complex (too many ingredients),
but I am so trying it this weekend
Gluten-free, no bake/raw, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free bars for 15 mins sounds amazing. For a very long time I was looking for a recipe like this. I hope my family of athletes will be happy when I cook these bars. In some way it looks like pre-workout food :) Thx for sharing recipe!
I hope the’ll be happy too, Julia!
I have all the ingredients to make this bars. But noticed that I got puffed rice cereal instead of the crispy. Do you think it will work? Or better to get the crispy one? Thank you!
I LOVE this recipe. I was wondering what your email was so I could contact you. I actually have some questions as I a thinking about going vegan. Thanks!
McKenzie, Angela’s cookbook makes it so easy to go to a full Plant Based eating style! My daughter (21) and I are on our 6th week and absolutely see a difference in our health and energy! The recipes are not complicated. If you are not convinced watch YouTube video called “What the Health” and “Food Choice”. Good Luck!
LOVE these! made them last night, and so happy how easy they were to make and how delicious! I used 1/8 of sunflower seeds and an 1/8 of the green pumpkin seeds. Wrapped them up as instructed and now my daughter can grab one to put into her lunch.
I love these glow bar today only I will try to prepare this bar. thanks for sharing a healthy food recipe.
It is really amazing!!!
And looks like so yummy, I am waiting for your next blog which is related to fitness exercise
These New Mama Glo Bars are phenomenal!!! Just made a batch for a new mama and now I’m going to whip some for myself. Yum, yum, yum!!
Aww thank you! So happy you love them as much as we do
I have made these bars using half molasses and half brown rice syrup. The molasses adds a distinct flavor as well as a boost of Iron. I love to eat the molasses bars with a clementine for the perfect absorbable Iron enhanced snack.
Hi Angela,
Can any nut butter be used to replace the sunflower seed butter in this recipe?
Thanks!
Hey Trista, As long as you enjoy the flavour of the nut butter you’d like to use I think it should be fine.
Hi angela.
Wondering if I can substitute agave for brown rice syrup.
I have made them in the past with the brown rice syrup but I can ‘t seem to find the syrup in the closest grocery stores to my home. Headed on a trip grabbed agave instead? Have you tried this or would recommed/not recommend.
Thanks wa mae
Hey there! Unfortunately brown rice syrup is the only sweetener that binds the bars enough (I’ve tested them all!) and if you use another kind like agave they will crumble and fall apart. But if you don’t mind the crumbling then give it a shot! Just keep in mind that agave is much sweeter than BRS and so you may find the bars to be too sweet unless you tweak the recipe.
I’m nearly 38 weeks pregnant and I just made a batch of these to freeze for after the baby is born. I took a taste and they’re delicious! I can’t wait to eat them! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
So happy to hear that Sandi! Congrats on your pregnancy. Thinking of you these last weeks :)
These are so good!! They taste great and I love the crispiness. I stumbled upon this recipe looking for low-FODMAP snacks and I make them every week now. I was a little afraid I wouldn’t be able to find some of the ingredients but Trader Joe’s had everything. Thanks for this delicious recipe!
Hey Anne, I’m so happy the bars are a big hit! We can’t get enough of them around here. Really easy to mix up the add-ins too.
I made a batch of these to freeze when I was 38 weeks pregnant. I am now one month postpartum and just ate the last one yesterday. Definitely one of my favorite recipes and so good to have on hand while breastfeeding and hungry all the time! I can’t wait to make another batch if I can ever find a spare moment!
Goodluck with the rest of your pregnancy Sandi! I’m so glad these bars were a hit. :)
I added dried blueberries in addition to dried cranberries, and a few dark chocolate chips. They turned out so wonderfully!
Thank you for creating a snack that I am able to send to school!
I love your additions…so good! Thanks for sharing :)
I love all versions of your glo bars but I am having a great deal of difficulty finding brown rice syrup. I used to get it at Thrive but they don’t have it anymore. Do you have ideas for where to buy the brown rice syrup or a substitution? thanks and thanks for all your recipes and inspritation!
Hi Penny, Thanks for the Glo Bar love :) I find many grocery chains carry it now (often located in the organic/gluten-free section/aisle). Not sure where you are located but grocery stores like Fortinos & Superstore/Loblaws carry it, and of course natural grocers like Organic Garage or Whole Foods. You can also buy it on Amazon.com Hope this helps!
Hi Angela, I swear there is a shortage of rice syrup in Canada right now. I’ve called and gone everywhere! Amazon seems to be the best bet but shipping will take over a month. Do you think that barley malt syrup might work as a replacement?
Hey Lauren, Oh no! I’ve heard this from other blog readers recently too. I bet there was a recall as it’s out of stock on Naturamarket.ca and Goodnessme.ca as well. I believe I tried barley malt syrup many years ago and I didn’t like it (both the flavour and didn’t find it held together as well). Sorry I can’t help you more! Now I’m off to check my supply, lol. A girl needs glo bars!!
Greetings! Can you use almond or peanut butter instead of sunflower seed butter?
Thank you!
Hi Anne, Yes absolutely! Just make sure the almond or peanut butter is all natural and it should work just fine.
Hi Angela.Thank you for creating such a great recipe for those of us with nut allergies!! I have a lot of friends that are vegan and, as much as I’d like to, I find it difficult finding recipes with ingredients that I can eat.
So glad you are enjoying the nut-free recipes Maira!
I prefer healthy food! And I’ll definitely try these bars. My husband would love it! Thanks and kudos for this awesome recipe.
Thank you Angela…both for the New Mama Glo Bars (my daughter in law had a baby
last Monday and these will be great) and the intro to Brene’ Brown LMCW. I looked
at her books on amazon and have ordered two of them for my LCSW practice.
Congrats on the baby!!! Thank you for your recipes. Vegetarian for 50+ years Vegan
since a few months.
daisy
Thanks so much for your kind words Daisy! I hope you enjoy the books. All the best to your daughter-in-law and the new baby!
I love these! I made them for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and I can’t wait to make them again. Quick question for the masses though… I’m trying to reduce my carbon footprint. Is there anything reusable to store the bars in besides plastic wrap? Thanks!
So glad you enjoy them Katie! You can store them in airtight containers if you’d like :)
I’ve this recipe! Thank you so much. In fact only stumbled upon your site today and so excited as have been having some gluten and lactose sensitivities :( so just trialling some different recipes to see how my gut goes. Just cutting out dairy has already made a massive improvement. Anyway, excited to go through your recipes :) my only other comment would be to get your thoughts on possibly looking at encouraging alternatives to using single use plastic. Maybe using parchment paper to wrap these bars for eg, and using a Tupperware for the freezers. Just a thought as the plastic consumption is so depressing with all our knowledge on the damage it’s doing :( thanks!!
Do you have any idea why my bats would get so hard….my first batch was perfect. 2nd and 3rd got way to hard to bite in to.
I cannot keep enough of these in my house. I have to triple the recipe every time I make them. My entire family loves them!!
I’m out of coconut oil! Will the recipe work without it? Or with a sub?
These are AMAZING! Question – I know you note that there are no substitutes for brown rice syrup in terms of liquid sweeteners but are there any substitutes that aren’t a sweetener? They are just a bit sugary for my health taste and I would love to keep making them :)).
We’ve been enjoying these bars since i received your first cookbook some years ago. After the birth of my granddaughter, I would make batches for my daughter in law and called it Nursing Crack! They are still our go to for travel and to enjoy with our coffee on the beach. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
Hi there, I love your first cookbook and have been using it for years and gave one to a good friend :-) and was about to finally make some Glo Bars, was writing down the ingredients for my shopping list and then realized that they’re frozen not baked! I live in Europe and we tend to have tiny kitchens, tiny fridges and tiny freezers over here. A tray would never fit in mine and I don’t have one of those molds for these. Could I theoretically bake these? What do you think? Thanks!
Rachel,
I am only a customer who purchased the book but I made the ones in her first book this morning and after mixing the heated rice syrup/almond butter and stirring it into the mixed ingredients I actually (washed my hands and used them to make sure it was evenly distributed ) and made then pressed it down onto parchment paper and put parchment paper on top of it and rolled it with a rolling pin, then removed the top paper and sliced it after it cooled a little bit and then wrapped them. So I probably wouldn’t bake them. I didn’t freeze them and they came out great! I love Angela’s recipes… helping me have healthy treats!
Could I make this without sesame seed, and should I substitute anything? My daughter was just diagnosed with allergies to several types of nuts and sesame, so I’m trying to avoid them.
These bars are INNSSSSAAANNEEEE!
Thank you for the recipe, is it possible to be baked for this bar?
These bars are soooooo good. And thank you for the nut free recipe! However lately I have not been able to find brown rice syrup anywhere! Any suggestions?