Homemade granola bars are a great go to snack for anyone! An excellent option for children’s lunches, a snack for athletes between training sessions, a snack for your office desk and a treat to keep in your car for when you are stuck in traffic!
Here is my version of my favourite granola bars, with an added twist of pumpkin seed butter for autumn. Pumpkin seed butter is very high in protein, zinc and iron. Super easy to switch things out, and add ingredients as you like! I thought of adding walnuts, but had none on hand, so that will be for next time!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups of rolled oats
- 1 ¼ cups of brown rice crisp cereal
- ¼ cup of hemp seeds
- ¼ sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup of goji berries
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 3 tablespoons of chia seeds
Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of brown rice syrup
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seed butter
In a saucepan over medium to high heat mix the syrup and nut butter until it is well combined, softened and slightly bubbling. You can then remove it from the heat and add 2 teaspoons of vanilla to the wet mixture.
Pour your wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir well so the entire dry mix becomes coated. You want to do this immediately after pouring the wet mixture, or everything is going to dry out.
If you wish, add chocolate chips at this point. I put in ½ cup of vegan chocolate chip chunks.
Line a square pan with parchment paper and place the pan in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Lift the parchment paper out of the pan and flip the square mixture onto a cutting board and slice into squares, or whatever shape is to your liking. I used a pizza roller to cut my bars but a sharp knife should work well.
I wrapped my bars in parchment paper and kept them in a container for a few days. I think they will keep for a week or 2, if you can go that long without eating them!
Enjoy!
