I must be getting old because I am slowly turning into that crazy person who wants to know how everything is made.
The more I take control of my health, the more I question if what I thought was healthy for me really is.
Let’s take granola bars for instance.
I’ve loved them since grade school when I still received a dollar a day for lunch. Every morning, I’d go to the corner store before school and get a bag of chips, a pack of gum, a box of Boston Baked Beans and a granola bar.
I always bought the granola bars dipped in chocolate so I clearly wasn’t thinking about my health, but I was always told how good oats were for you so…it must be a little good, right?
I think that is most people’s rationale, but I am quickly learning that anything homemade is going to be better for you because you can control what’s in it.
In fact, I prefer not to have a lot of snacks in the house unless they are homemade. It forces me to get up and do something, it allows me to create and I get a delicious snack when it’s all done.
When I made these quinoa granola bars, I wanted something that not only tasted good, but was good for my body so I added in peanut butter, chia seeds, and lots of nuts. Bring on the protein and energy!
Ingredients:
– 1 cup of 1-minute oats
– 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa
– 1/4 cup of chia seeds
– 1/2 cup of shredded coconut
– 1/2 cup of favorite nuts ( I used two packages from my Graze subscription, which included flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, flower seeds, brazils, cashews and pistachios)
– 1/4 cup of favorite dried fruits ( Again, I used a package from my Graze subscription, which included raisins, craisins and ligonberries)
– 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
– 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
– 1 tablespoon of honey
– 1/2 cup of coconut oil
– 1 cup of brown sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees and once hot, add the oats and quinoa to a greased dish and bake until toasted. The color will change from gray to a brownish-color. Be sure to constantly mix so that the quinoa won’t burn. Let cool.
2. Mix the toasted oats and quinoa with the chia seeds, coconut, brown sugar, dried fruit and nuts until well blended.
3. In a saucepan, add the peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil until the sauce is creamy. Once done, add to the oat mixture and blend well.
4. Add everything to a parchment paper-lined baking dish and press down to ensure the mixture is evenly distributed.
5. Bake for approximately 10 additional minutes (bake time depends on how chewy or crunchy you like your granola bars)
6. Once it’s cooked to your liking, let cool completely before cutting into bars.
This specific recipe made 14 bars and were crunchy like store bought ones. The thing I like the most about making these is that they are completely customizable. I am definitely going to make them again, but with different ingredients. I will keep you posted.
Also, if you are interested in getting one free box of healthy snacks from Graze, you can use this coupon code: YASMEI4MP
Enjoy!
