I have a sweet tooth that constantly needs to be kept in check. It’s genetic. So every time I can channel my hankering into a treat that is good for me, I do that. It feels like killing two birds with one stone, or at least makes me feel better about my life choices.

The fact that this healthy seedy pumpkin bark is held together by healthy fats (great for your skin) and sprinkled with tons of seeds (great for balancing your hormones), is reason enough for me to keep it stocked in my fridge all fall long. It’s the perfect treat to grab a square of after lunch or for a midday snack.

It won’t spike your blood sugar, because it’s sweetened with just a bit of pure maple syrup. And the fats help fill you up and keep you satiated for longer. (AKA. It’s a much better option than reaching for a PSL when you need a sweet pick-me-up.)

For more sweet, pumpkin treats check out my Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake, Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies, and 5-Minute Pumpkin Microwave Muffin. xo.

This post was sponsored by Sprouts. Thank you for supporting the partnerships that allow Brewing Happiness to grow and exist. xoxo.

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Healthy Seedy Pumpkin Bark

Course: Dessert, Sweet Thangs

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 12 pieces

This Healthy Seedy Pumpkin Bark is packed with hormone balancing seeds, nut butter, healthy fats, pumpkin puree, and lightly sweetened with maple syrup!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cacao butter
• 1/3 cup cashew nut butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup Sprouts Brand Organic Pumpkin Puree
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons pepitas
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Line a small baking sheet (preferably a 1/8th size, but you can use a 1/4th), with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Heat a small pot over medium-low heat. Add in your cacao butter, cashew nut butter, coconut oil, Sprouts Brand Organic Pumpkin Puree, maple syrup, and sea salt. Continuously whisk until the mixture is melted, smooth and well combined. 

3. Pour your mixture onto your parchment paper line baking sheet. Sprinkle pepitas, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and sesame seeds on top. 

4. Transfer to the freezer for 20-30 minutes, or until it is completely solid. 

5. Take out of the freezer and cut into about 12 square pieces. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

6. EAT UP. 

Recipe Notes

*Recipe adapted from Tending the Table's Hormone Balancing Nut Butter Bark. 

We live in a culture of comments, likes, and follows – void of human touch, eye contact, and depth. It’s both intensely exhausting and incredibly intoxicating. I get it. The dopamine released in your brain when you get a “like” is addictive. As a person with a career in social media, I fall into this trap every day. It’s sad, and can leave me attempting to validate my existence by the success of a photo. It takes concerted effort to pull myself from the trap. I don’t like it, but it’s a truth of my career that I can’t deny. I have to fight it each and every day.

There’s a gap between the digital world and the analog world that can’t be filled with follows or likes. Our days need more hugs and conversations with strangers. Our lives need more substance and human connection. We are lost without it.

I understand the irony of yelling into the internet ether about the problems about the internet. But alas, how else do we communicate with the world on a grand scale? And I don’t think the internet is going anywhere, or lessening. So we must try to adapt to this new world.

How do we validate ourselves while also living in an internet world? I find going screenless at night and in the morning helps me. I find that structuring the time in which I check social media is helpful. (I’m not always successful at that.) I find that downloading an app that tracks my screentime is helpful. I find that hugging more humans is helpful. I find that forcing myself to laugh with strangers is scary, but also helpful. I try to look up and see the world as often as I can.

It’s not just about social media addiction, either. There’s a deep culture of human-less interaction. For instance, when there are hundreds of apps that deliver food and groceries to us, why would we go to the store to buy pumpkin bark ingredients? It seems pointless. But then you miss out on talking to your Sprouts cashier about the health benefits of kombucha. Or you miss out on getting to peruse all of the new pumpkin flavored everything in the grocery store, and having 3 workers ask if you need help. (Apparently I look lost a lot.) There is a lot of touch, smell, taste and feel out in the world. I suggest getting more of it.

We’re in an uphill battle here, fighting against the current of a culture that want everything to be “easy” and “accessible.” Possibly at the cost of our humanity. So we must fight. We must go to the store to buy our healthy seedy pumpkin bark ingredients instead of getting our pumpkin spice lattes delivered. It’s not easier. But it’s worth it. Keep your humanness. Keep as much of it as you can. xo.