Granola Bars

 Hello!

"two dates walk into a bar..."  Put on your aprons, we're making food! 

Today I'm sharing my love of oats.  In oatmeal, granola bars, smoothies, over night cold oats, in cookies, any way you want to look at it, I love them.  I almost always have a granola bar in my bag, and since they're pretty pricey, I figured I should probably start making my own.  In my hunt for the perfect bar, I've learned not all bars are created the same.  So many "granola bars" out there are filled with high fructose corn syrup and nothing of actual nutrition. I like to know exactly what I'm eating and I like a small ingredient list.  My favorite bars right now are Lara bars & Earnest Eats bars  (the ginger/apple tastes like apple pie!)  I've made a few bars in the past but they've either been too sweet or sticky or fall apart.

Until these.  Behold - the easiest (no bake) granola bar recipe you've ever seen.  Original recipe found at Minimalist Baker.  If you haven't checked out their blog you should - so many easy delicious recipes!

Look at these little squares of deliciousness.  Oh did I mention you don't need to bake anything?  Soft, perfectly sweet & salty crunchy granola bars.  Plus they're full of protein, fiber and natural sugar to give you energy throughout the day.  Win-win.

Recipe- 

Makes 9 squares.  Under 10 minutes.

- 1 C dates, pitted

- 1/4 C honey

- 1/4 C salted peanut butter

- 1 C roasted almonds (I used walnuts & sunflower seeds)

- 1 & 1/2 C rolled oats

- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbs chia seeds

This is a great base & so many options for mix ins - coconut, more nuts, cranberries, chocolate chips, candied ginger etc.

My entire kitchen, brought to you by Trader Joe's

Recipe -
1.  Line 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper/wax paper/plastic wrap for easy removal 
2. Process dates & vanilla in food processor until fairly smooth.
3. Pour oats, chia, dates, and nuts in a bowl.
4.  Melt honey & peanut butter together (over stove top, or in microwave 10 second intervals)
5.  Pour melted honey & pb into date mixture & mix until well combined
6.  Pour into pan, press down and try to make everything level.  Pop in the fridge for 20 minutes to harden up.
7.  Transfer to cutting board & cut squares.
8. Devour

*these will last a week if kept in the fridge and a few months if kept in the freezer.  (If you can leave them there that long!)

mixing up all the sweet date goodness

Enjoy!

x Sara