I'm not afraid to admit that I have a new obsession with my food. These granola bars are amazing and I have a hard time eating just one they are so tasty. The great thing, however, is if you couple them with a piece of fruit one is enough. They are perfect for filling an empty stomach halfway through the day and keeping hunger at bay for quite some time after consuming them. Oh, and did I mention that they are amazingly delicious?! I can't wait for snack time!
These granola bars were inspired by the GLO BAR, invented by one of my favorite food bloggers, Angela Liddon at Oh She Glows. I have tweaked them a little to suite my specific tastes, as usual, but the great thing about these is you can add whatever you want. My granola bars change slightly each time I make them, based on what I'm in the mood for at that moment.
Here is the recipe for the granola bars pictured - my favorite concoction thus far!
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups oats
3 cups Pumpkin Flax Granola by Nature's Path **
1/2 cup shredded - unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup honey (agave and brown rice syrup also work great)
1/2 cup almond butter
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup mini-dark chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with waxed paper - it usually takes two long strips of waxed paper side by side to completely cover the entire pan.
In a large bowl combine the oats, granola cereal, coconut, chia seeds, almonds, cinnamon and salt. In a small saucepan put the honey and almond butter.Cook over medium heat until the mixture softens and becomes liquid and mixed well. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Pour liquid over your oat mixture and stir well. Make sure that every bit of your dry mixture is coated. Make sure to cool a bit before adding your chocolate chips or they will melt (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it will just turn the whole thing chocolatey instead of just having your chips in there).
Dump your mixed ingredients into your wax paper lined baking dish. Wet hands slightly to keep them from sticking, and firmly press mixture evenly throughout the pan. If things start to stick, just dampen your hands slightly again (I usually have to do this a few times). Make sure the mixture is even and compactly pressed into your pan.
Place the pan in the freezer for 15-20 minutes while you clean up the kitchen. Lift the oats mixture out of the pan using the waxed paper. Using a pizza cutter slice into 24 granola bars - I cut 6 rows and then cut those into 4 segments width wise. Wrap each individual bar in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container in the freezer. I eat them straight out of the freezer and love them - hubby prefers to let them thaw out first.
**I buy this cereal bulk through my organic co-op, but it is also at Costco and in the bulk section of Fred Meyer . It's good stuff!
