There are a million and ten recipes out there for granola bars, but we always come through with our own. We find recipe testing and creation relaxing, fun and meditative. It’s always rewarding when we come up with something delicious, and it’s always a relief being in control of what goes in our bodies by home-making our food and generally staying away from anything that has an ingredient list. Granola bars are a major culprit of being marketed as a health food when in actual reality, it’s practically just a sugar train void of nutrients. Reading those labels has inspired us to take a crack at the homemade granola bar trend, so we added our favorites to come up with these Nutty Granola Bars:

 

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup + 2 Tbs water

1/2 cup pepitas

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup nut butter

1/4 cup raw honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

 

Directions:

  1. Toast oats, pepitas, and sunflower seeds in 400F oven for about ten minutes, or until golden
  2. Melt honey, nut butter, and 2 Tbs of water together in a double boiler over medium heat, or in a microwave being sure to stop every ten seconds or so to stir and make sure nothing burns
  3. Mix toasted oats, pepitas, and sunflower seeds with dried cranberries, chia seeds, salt, and cinnamon
  4. Slowly fold in melted nut butter mixture until thoroughly combined
  5. Add 1/3 cup of water and mix together
  6. Line 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper and spread mixture into pan. Place a second sheet of parchment paper over the top of the mixture and roll out the mixture until evenly spread throughout the pan to desired thickness
  7. Bake at 300F for 25 minutes
  8. Allow to cool before cutting into 16 even bars
  9. Store in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.

Nutrition Facts:

Total Servings: 15

Calories: 205

Protein: 6.8g

Carbs: 21.7g

Fat: 11g

 

If you’re feeling fancy…

Add dark chocolate chips

or

Toss in some coconut flakes