Mr. Tricycle is still out on disability following his ACL surgery, so he’ll occasionally watch daytime TV. The other week he happened to catch Alton Brown on the Food Network and decided to make the Brown Rice Crispy Bars featured on the show (he knows Rice Krispie Treats are one of my favorites – smart man). This healthier version was a hit in our household. They’re both gluten free and dairy free!

Instead of using butter, the recipe calls for flax seed oil. Flax seeds are high in omega-3 essential fatty acids, lignans, and fiber. Preliminary research suggests that flax seed can help protect you from a whole host of diseases, including cancers, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. (Side note: you probably don’t want to use flaxseeds as a daily supplement if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. I can’t imagine that using a little oil in cooking would be a problem, but to be safe you may want to try grape seed oil, walnut oil, peanut oil, or plain old olive oil instead.) You’ll find flax seed oil in a refrigerated case, probably in the natural foods section. Be prepared – it’s not cheap.

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Ingredients:

  • 6 cups puffed brown rice cereal, toasted in the oven on a sheet pan for a few minutes
  • 3 tablespoons flax seed oil (Pregnant or breastfeeding? Use a different oil – see above), plus more for greasing pan
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 4 cups of mini marshmallows
  • ¾ cups chopped or diced toasted nuts (we used silvered almonds, but any kind of nut would work well)
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped dried fruit (we used a combination of cherries, cranberries, and blueberries, but they would be awesome with dried apricots or dried pineapple and coconut)

Directions:

Lightly coat a 9”x13” pan with oil and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Once oven is preheated, toast your puffed rice and nuts on a sheet pan. Four or five minutes should do it, stirring once or twice.

Prepare the marshmallow mixture by combining marshmallow, honey, and flax seed oil in a double boiler (we fill a sauce pan with water and then float another sauce pan or bowl on top to improvise). Stir until the marshmallows are melted, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add the toasted brown rice, toasted nuts, and dried fruit to the marshmallow mixture and quickly stir to combine.

Dump mixture into greased pan and lightly press into place. Allow to cool, and then cut into squares. Try not to eat the whole pan in 24 hours.