Healthy Carrot Cake Quinoa Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Hey, so Easter is coming up super fast. And I'm sure you've had your fill of little cupcakes shaped like tulips or decorated eggs and you've been seeing peeps at the grocery since the day before Valentine's day. That being said...if you want something springy like, I don't know, carrot cake without the insane sweetness I've got just the thing for you (total Stephan moment). Carrot Cake quinoa bars with cream cheese frosting. This frosting. Oh my gosh...you'll love it. 

These bars are kind of 'everything bars' of nutrition goodness. I think this might be a little bit because of our Spring Cleaning purge that we're doing in our life right now at the house, but I basically went to the freezer and pantry and was like "What can I use.....?". And it worked. I love it when that happens. 

Healthy Carrot Cake Quinoa Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

makes 1 batch

/// Frosting /// 

• 8 oz neufchatel cheese
• 4 T powdered sugar
• 2-3 T skim milk

Add ingredients to a bowl with an immersion blender or food processor and puree to create a silky frosting. Store in fridge covered.

/// Bar /// 

• 3/4 C dry quinoa soaked in 1 1/2 C water for 1 hour (drain water and rinse)
• 1/4 c sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, mixed
• 1/2 C rolled oats
• 1/4 F hulled hemp seeds
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 C honey 
• 1 t ground saigon cinnamon
• 1 C grated carrots (wringed out so dry)

Add ingredients to a bowl and mix together so the honey coats everything. Place in a parchment lined baking dish (this makes it easy to remove to cut bars) and tamp down. Sometimes it's easiest to use damp fingertips. You want everything to be packed in and together. Place in the freezer for 3 hours. Remove and frost individual bars to make them picture perfect or smear on that frosting and then cut (which will make everything totally messy but delicious).