Versatile, Healthy, Power Bar!
Sweet and slightly salty with a crunchy and chewy texture, these home-made granola bars are healthy, delicious and make a fabulous breakfast or snack on the go.
I personally love the flavor of these power bars with the coconut, pecans, and almond butter but the beauty of this recipe is that it is extraordinarily versatile.
You can BE BRAVE and switch out the almond butter for any other nut butter, change out the pecans for almonds, or a combination of nuts and seeds, throw in some chewy dried fruit, or dark chocolate chips, and it all works to make a nourishing but decadent tasting bar.
Although you can certainly make the bars without toasting the oats and nuts, I definitely recommend taking the time to toast them first – it just adds this amazingly warm, nutty aroma and taste that is unquestionably scrumptious.
These make great after school snacks or breakfast bars, and I even will scoff one down as dessert!
Healthy Granola Bars
Ingredients
(* indicates my preferred ingredients – see notes for alternatives)
1¼ cup pitted medjool dates
1 teaspoon O&V Melipone Vanilla *
¼ cup Runamok Maple Syrup or Runamok Cinnamon Vanilla Maple Syrup *
¼ cup creamy salted almond butter (or peanut butter)
1 cup unsalted pecans or almonds (roughly chopped)
1½ cup rolled oats (use gluten-free if preferred)
¼ cup sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut
¼ cup additions – chocolate chips, dried fruits, banana chips or other seeds (optional)
1/8 teaspoon flaky salt
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the rolled oats in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Place the unsalted almonds/pecans on a separate tray in a single layer. Place the tray of rolled oats and the tray of nuts in the oven for 10-15 minutes until slightly toasted.
While the oats and nuts are baking check out your dates. If they don’t feel sticky and moist, soak them in water for 10 minutes. Drain, and place in a food processor. Process until small bits remain – it should form a dough like consistency.
Remove the nuts and oats from the oven and place in a large mixing bowl. Add in the processed dates to the mixing bowl.
Warm the almond butter and maple syrup in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over the oat and date mixture. Combine well, breaking up the dates throughout. Add the shredded coconut, any other preferred add-in, and 1/8 teaspoon of flaky salt. Mix well.
Prepare an 8 x 8 pan by lining it with long sheets of parchment paper that go over the sides of the pan (so you can easily lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper).
Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl into the pan and press down until uniformly flattened (I often use the bottom of a drinking glass to press down and pack the bars to help hold them together).
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to firm up.
Remove, and slice into even sized squares or bars. Store in an airtight container and use within a week or freeze some to thaw later.
Serves 9-10 pieces
Active time 15 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes
Notes
* The high quality and intense flavors of the Melipone Vanilla and the Runamok syrups is key to this recipe. Feel free to substitute but remember that the better the ingredients, the better the flavor and health benefits
All highlighted products are available at Oil & Vinegar stores
Categories: Snack, Healthy Treat, Granola Bar, Almond Butter, Pecan, Runamok Maple Syrup, Cinnamon Vanilla Maple Syrup, Melipone Vanilla, Rolled Oats, Vegan, Vegetarian, Plant Based, Snacking on the Mediterranean Diet,
