Fruit and Nut Natural Nutrition Bars

It wasn't until two weeks ago while running errands and feeling famished, that I stopped into Starbucks to get some iced green tea when I spotted Kind Bars, a fruit and nut natural nutritional bar.  Realizing that I didn't have time to stop and grab a bite anywhere, I decided to try one.  WOW!  They were fantastic with just the right amount of fruits, nuts, chew and satisfaction.  That little bar kept me full the rest of the afternoon.  I was shocked!

When I finally made it home my mission was to find a recipe for these.  I searched online and viewed a variety of recipes and even tried them, but none had the right combination of ingredients to keep them held together.  One claimed to be perfect and others had testified, but it had Brown Rice Syrup in it, an ingredient I recently wrote about.  So decided not to try this version.

Besides loving the flavor my main goal was to find a granola-like or nutrition bar that I could make to take while biking or hiking through the mountains where I'll be soon.  Typically I go on 3-4 hour bike rides and 4-5 hour hikes, so a nutritional bar is the perfect fix for a tired, hungry body in the middle of the mountains.  At $4+ a pop for a bar I'd prefer making my own, that is, if it's not going to take all day.

The first batch I made had all the right ingredients

BUT

just didn't hold together well.

The second batch I made, I added oats, 7-whole grain cereal and peanut butter, subbing out honey for Lyle's Golden Syrup..  This one turned out perfect.  If you're a fan of peanut butter, I think you'll like this.  Next time I'm going to try it with Lyle's Golden Syrup, a favorite of mine.

In addition, I chopped the nuts rather than leaving them whole, which only made it easier to slice but IMO looks prettier left in one piece.

I hope you like this quick, easy, tasty and nutritious bar.  It's a perfect snack when you're on the run!

Fruit & Nut Natural Nutrition Bars

serves 8

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats (I used Quaker Old Fashioned Oats)
¼ cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp almonds, chopped (I used slivered)
1 Tbsp pistachios, chopped
½ cup water
½ Kashi 7-Whole Grain Puffs
¾ cup creamy peanut butter (I used low sodium, organic)
½ cup honey (next time I'm using Lyle's Golden Syrup because I like it)
1 cup mixed dried fruit (I used, Plum Amazin's, strawberries and apricots), roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine oats, seeds, and nuts.  Spread onto a foil lined sheet pan, and bake until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan bring water to a boil, then remove from the heat.  Add the Kashi cereal letting it absorb the water, about 5 minutes. Stir in peanut butter and honey, returning saucepan back to the stove on a  medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the fruit, oats, seeds and nuts into the peanut-butter mixture, blending all together with a rubber or silicone spatula, until ingredients are evenly coated.

4. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.  Pour the mixture into the pan, and using your spatula, press into a uniform thickness. 

5. Cover and move the pan to the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours.

6. Cut into 8 equal sized bars. Wrap individually in wax paper, tied with twine for traveling or enjoy straight from the refrigerator.

These bars will keep at room temperature for 2 days, or refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Note: Remember this is simply a blueprint of a recipe that worked for me.  Now you can tweak this recipe to suit your taste, or allergies, and make your own unique bar.  Please share your results.  I'd love to hear them.

ENJOY!!!

High Energy, HIgh Protein Granola Bars

It's that time of year when everyone starts coming out of the woodwork. With the weather warming up we tend to stay outdoors for hours or all day doing yardwork, biking, swimming, running, hiking, etc.

However, oftentimes that means being out someplace where you don't have access to the refrigerator. So you have to bring along a beverage to quench your thrist and something to keep your energy level up so you don't collapse.




I love to make homemade granola like I made in a previous post as well as granola bars. In fact when we're hiking in the mountains of Colorado for hours on end we always bring some with us and even some sort of wrap, usually turkey, in our backpacks.

Here's a simple recipe for high energy, high protein granola bars. This isn't a low fat bar but packs the punch to fuel your body for hours.

Feel free to substitute any of the ingredients for ones you prefer. I'll give a list of some other alternatives at the bottom of the recipe.

High Energy, High Protein, Granola Bar
(serving size depends on how you slice them)

Preheat oven to 350 degree

Line a 9 1/2 x 13" pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Dry Ingredients:

3 cups whole grain cereal (I used Kashi GoLean w/13g of protein)
1/2 cup nuts or seeds ( I used chopped raw almonds and sunflower seeds)
1 small pack of ground Flax Seed - approximately 1 tablespoon or more if you like
(Flax Seed is high in Omega-3 Oils and Lignans)
1/2 cup dried fruit or a mix - (I used figs & apricots)


Mix dry ingredients together and set aside

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 cup sunflower butter
3/4 cup honey
plus 2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix wet ingredients plus cinnamon in a sauce pan and heat to a boil. Pour over the dry ingredients and blend together.

Spread out into your sheet pan edge to edge and pack firmly down.

Place in preheated oven and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely.

Pull out block of granola by foil and turn over onto a cutting board. You can slice into squares or make a horizontal slice down the center and then cut into individual bar shapes. Can wrap individually in wax or parchment paper or plastic wrap.

Note:

If you don't want to use sunflower butter feel free to use any other kind such as: peanut, almond, cashew, etc. If it's all natural and doesn't contain salt add a pinch to your wet ingredients after cooking.

Any type of combination of dried fruits would be great. Just make sure they are cut up into small squares so they're easy to eat. You can add dried craisins, raisins, pineapple, etc.

In place of honey you could use Agave Nectar, Maple Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, etc.

Any combination of nuts will work depending on what you like. If you're allergic then don't add any. Sunflower seeds and butter are a good alternative to those with allergies. If you love chocolate add chocolate chips or m&m's

Be creative and if you like you can add different extracts or oils, even sesame seed oil for some great flavor.

Have fun with these.