I really dread walking through the granola bar section at the grocery market because all of the bars out there SUCK.  There is not one healthy granola bar I have encountered yet I have seen many that claim to be healthy.  The other day I saw these new quinoa granola bar’s and thought to myself ‘finally something worth buying’ and then I read the ingredients and see that it’s loaded with fructose corn syrup. I don’t mind the Kashi PB bars but even those are questionable.  I don’t know why it took me this long to decide to make my own granola bar’s but it did, and damn have I been missing out! I found a great basic recipe that makes the perfect granola bar ever! It holds together very well and is full of healthy ingredients   You can also play around with the ingredients in this recipe and change it up each time you make a batch.  I went with PB and chocolate but next time I’ll try something more fruity like cranberry and pumpkin seed. The options are endless! I don’t really enjoy sweet granola bar’s so I only used one banana and 1/4 cup of agave nectar. If you like yours much sweeter feel free to use 2 banana’s and 1/2 cup of sweetener (the options are below in the ingredients section)  These bar’s are also vegan (if you use dairy-free choco chips) and can be made gluten-free as well by using gluten-free rolled oats. These will last a good week in the fridge! Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Chia Seed Granola Bars 1 ripe banana, mashed (you can add a second banana if you don’t want to add any liquid sweetener, see below)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (if making these vegan, use dairy-free chips)
1/4 – 1/2 cup maple syrup (you could also use honey, coconut nectar, brown rice syrup, etc or skip and add extra banana)
1/2 cup organic natural peanut butter, chunky or creamy, (or any other nut or seed butter)
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/4 cup almond slivers
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 – 2 tablespoons espresso powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease an 8″ x 8″ glass baking pan very well, or line it with foil, leaving some overhang on two of the sides so you can easily pull it out of the pan to make cutting even easier (this is what I did). In a large mixing bowl, add all of your ingredients. Mix and mash up very well until it is all well combined. Get your hands in there if you really want to. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into your pan. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Don’t worry if the bars seem a bit soft, they will firm up as they cool. After it has completely cooled, either lift the entire thing out of the pan and cut into bars or squares, or cut while it is in the pan. These can be stored individually in the fridge or freezer.  adapted from tasty yummies Share on Facebook Tweet Follow us Share Share Share Share Share