Simply Delicious and Nut Free Granola Bars
Do you buy packaged granola bars? Have you noticed how cheap some brands are this time of year as kids are heading off to school? Have you also read the ingredient list of those things? Yikes! I’ve been tempted to pick up some boxes to add to my teenager’s lunches but once I read that long list of ingredients of things I can’t pronounce, the box goes back on the shelf. I’m not saying that I’ve never grabbed a box of granola bars for an afternoon treat or a quick snack before a music lesson or sports outing, but it is definitely a rarity that they find their way into my grocery cart.
As I was looking for a recipe for an afternoon treat with lots of protein I stumbled across a granola bar recipe from Super Healthy Kids. With some changes to make it nut free and suit our taste buds I whipped these bars up. Oh my, they are tasty, even to teenage boy standards. I hope you enjoy them.
Simply Delicious and Nut Free Granola Bars
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup dry rolled oats
- 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2/3 cup coconut flakes
- ¾ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¾ cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter
- 2 tbsp coconut paste
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
- Cooking spray
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a glass 9X13 inch baking dish with oil and set aside.
On a cookie sheet lined with parchment, spread out oats and quinoa, and toast in preheated oven for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and put mixture in a large bowl. Add coconut flakes, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.
In a medium saucepan, combine salt, sunflower seed butter, coconut paste, honey, and coconut oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then immediately remove from heat stirring constantly, and pour over the oat mixture. Stir together until dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Spoon onto prepared baking dish, pressing the mixture firmly into the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately pour chocolate chips evenly over bars. Spread with spatula. The chocolate chips will melt as you are spreading them around.
Cool for up to 2 hours, then cut and serve.
