Sweet and Salty Sesame Seaweed Bars

A sweet, salty, crunchy, and super satisfying superfood snack. Sweet and salty sesame seaweed bars are the healthiest “granola” bar in town. Full of functional ingredients like seaweed, spirulina, and hemp seeds that give you a healthy burst of energy and leave you feeling satisfied for hours. Snacking upgraded.

Have you ever had a really crazy idea that you just can't talk yourself out of? Like it's just stuck there and you feel like you have no choice but to move forward with it, no matter how truly absurd it is.

My crazy idea started with my sister. As sisterhood goes, one sister plants the idea and it grows roots in the other sisters. The three of us (I'm the middle sister) are now 100% in.

We are stuck.

And holy shit it is amazing!

Crazy. Outside of our comfort zone and amazing.

The first step in making this idea a reality happened a few days ago inside an REI store in Soho. REI is an outdoors-ey kind of store, the kind of place you would never catch me in. Not because I don't like outdoor activities, I do. Sort of. In my own way. But I do not own a tent, or a sleeping bag, or any of the foreign objects that fill this massive store.

I was there, with my big sister, Erika, the true originator of this crazy idea.

We needed to buy hiking shoes. Two of the most unlikely people in the world to buy hiking shoes.

Why?

Well, in a little under 4 months my sisters and I are going to walk the Camino de Santiago via the Camino Frances. The Camino, or the Way of St. James, is a traditional pilgrimage route that hundreds of thousands of people (pilgrims) walk each year. It begins in St. Jean Pied de Port, France and travels all the way through northern Spain, ending in Santiago, Spain.  The total distance of the walk is 500 miles.

We, the three sisters, have committed to walk the entire route together in our lifetime. Not all at once. Not because we can't do it! We can totally do it, but because logistically not one of us can take 35+ days away from life (work/school/family). So we are starting this year with our first bit, we have dedicated 10 days to the walk and hope to get 30+% of the way there, so somewhere around 165 miles. Totally doable, right?

That's what I keep telling myself.

Erika came into town this past weekend specifically so we could buy our shoes together (little sister was supposed to join us, but naturally she was still in bed at the early hour of 1 pm when we were supposed to meet). We spent hours talking and planning for this adventure. Erika was most worried about our low blood sugar. Our, because all three of us turn into complete demons if we don't eat. We will be in unpredictable terrain for 10 days and are going to have to plan to have at least some rations with us. In our backpack.

This is the other thing, we will all have to carry our backpacks for 165 miles. Also, we all need to buy backpacks.

So in typical planning fashion, I thought the most natural next step, after shoes, was recipes. Right? That's what any “hiker” would do!

Could I create a recipe of something super nourishing, that doesn't weigh much (again we have to carry our life on our backs for 10 days, heavy is not an option) that I could take on the trip?

I hate a granola bar, most of the time I hate a protein bar, and a bag full of nuts just ain't going to cut it.

What about seaweed bars? I thought. Seaweed is super nutrient dense, it's the perfect food to have around to get a natural boost of energy. Load that seaweed bar up with some other nuts and seeds and coconut oil and Winner!

Well, I am pretty sure we may be the only 3 out of 250,000 projected number of people to walk the Camino this year carrying seaweed bars, but gosh darn't we are going to do it!

I absolutely adore this recipe. I call it seaweed crack because it's addictive and makes you feel sooooooo good.

It couldn't be easier, just a mixture of your favorite nuts and seeds, some crumbled up nori (that's the seaweed) maple syrup and coconut oil. Just be cautious of the type of nori you buy. I look for the large sheets that you use to roll sushi, not the little snack size nori. Also just be aware of the sodium content, it varies considerably from batch to batch/ or brand to brand.

I can imagine packing these seaweed bars in our packs for emergencies. To get us through the last 5 miles of the day, before we land in a charming little town in Spain and eat tapas and drink wine.

Oh, did I not mention that part? Yeah, see this is where my sister's and I fit so perfectly into this very long hike. You stay each night in a town along the route and you eat traditional Spanish food and drink incredible Spanish wine.

So it may not be the rugged-roughing-it-Pacific-Crest-Trail-a-la-the-movie/book-“Wild”, it may be our “version” of roughing it. I mean we probably can only take 2 outfits for 10 days! and although we will start the day with cafe con leche and end it with a beautiful crisp Albarino or a robust Tempranillo and a few bites of grilled octopus and Iberico ham, we still will be walking 15-20 miles per day. My contribution to this crunchy granola-ish treck is a very hiker friendly treat.

And I am damn proud of it.

Also, you can just make this as a fun snack to have around. You totally don't need to commit to a 500-mile walk in order to enjoy it.

Totally random side note, seaweed is really good for dogs 🙂

For more great snack ideas have you checked out my ebook “101 Healthy Snack Ideas” yet? You can grab your copy here.