January 15, 2019 / FOOD
Last May we traveled to Hilton Head for my cousin’s wedding. It was an amazing trip with a lot of great memories made. If you have small children, I highly recommend vacationing there. It’s a simple island with simple things to do and easy access to the beach, restaurants, grocery store, parks, etc. Everything is walkable and you can even rent bikes if you’d like to explore the entire island in one day.
Besides the great memories, one of the things I brought back with me is this recipe for healthy granola bars. My Aunt Laurie had made a batch and brought them with her as a grab and go healthy snack. I am a huge fan of whole, nutrient-dense meals and snacks. So when she gave them to my kids and they didn’t spit it out, I knew it was a recipe that I needed in my arsenal!
I’ve made these granola bars over a handful of times now and these are the hit of the household. I hope that you enjoy as much as we do and I challenge you to just eat one!
Wholesome Granola Bars
These Granola Bars are a favorite in our household. The ingredients are whole, organic, and nutrient dense. To top it off there are no added sugars! My kids gobble these up and they are a healthy alternative to the prepackaged option that are loaded with processed sugar.
- 1 1/4 cup Quick Oats
- 1/2 cup Steel Cut Oats (or 1 3/4 Cups Quick Oats)
- 1 1/2 cup Whole Almonds (Chopped to liking)
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries (and/or Cherries)
- 1/2 cup Flaxseed
- 1/3 cup Chia Seed
- 1/2 cup Toasted Wheat Germ
- 2 cups Ghiradelli 60% cacao chocolate chips
- 1 3/4 cups Almond Butter (or Cashew butter)
- 1 1/4 cups Maple Syrup
- 1 3/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Bake the quick oats, steel-cut oats and almonds in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. You want the oats and almonds lightly toasted, so watch the mixture closely and stir it around on the baking pan after 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool. In a large bowl, mix the toasted oats and almonds with all other ingredients except the almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla and chocolate chips. Heat the almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla slowly until smooth in a small pan on top of the stove. Let cool and stir into oats mixture. Be sure oats/almond butter mixture has cooled for x minutes before adding the chocolate chips, as you want the chips to remain intact. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and pack the mixture down tightly. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Cut into bars and wrap. Refrigerate or freeze for longest storage.
Enjoy! Kim
