I am on the late shift at the surgery tonight, I start at 2pm and finish at 8pm, this gives me the morning at home to get my boring chores done, do some Diana’s House work and if I am lucky, time to type up the odd blog post or two. I start my morning at 6.30am when I get up regardless of what time I am starting work to make Hubby fresh coffee, when he goes off to work I get lots of jobs done and then at about 10am I make my breakfast smoothie, more jobs and then just before I leave for work I may make another coffee (depending on how shattered I am feeling) and grab something to eat. These Chewy Granola Bars were exactly what I had in mine as a great on the go, energy boosting snack and thats why I rushed around and made a batch last night.
Now they are extremely sticky, but that just adds to there deliciousness, I set mine in the freezer, then sliced them up, popped them in a tin amongst greaseproof paper and now store them back in the freezer. They are ready to grab when ever you fancy one and are perfect for that rushing out of the door breakfast, in a packed lunch or with an afternoon cup of tea to get you through that dreadful afternoon slump.
Now here comes the best bit.. NO baking! So you can make them with the kids and they only take a few minutes.They are also vegan, gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, plus full of healthy fats, natural sugars and whole grains, all sounds very good to me.
They have crunch, sweetness and are chewy, they are healthy but you feel like you are indulging in something really naughty. I played around with the ingredients, I put in cashews, pistachios as well as almonds. I also did not have enough brown rice syrup, so I just topped up with honey. As I was doubling the recipe I did one cup of sesame seeds as the recipe suggested, but the second 1/4 cup I did a mixture of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. As always, just use up what you have lying around, as long as you stick to the measurements it should all turn out fine. Add goji berries, coconut flakes, anything you like, they will all be delicious and yummy.
Its raining out, so I am getting a lift into work, crutches and trying to hold an umbrella just doesn’t work ! Now to decide what to wear on such a dull day, grab one of these Chewy Granola Bars, write a note reminding Luca that they are in the freezer for when he gets in from school and then its off to work for me.
Buon appetito
Dry Ingredients
120 grams (1 1/2 cups) gluten free rolled oats
1 cup of raisins
1 cup roasted almonds, chopped roughly
2 medjool dates, chopped roughly
2 tablespoons dried berries of choice
1/4 cup sesame seeds
Dash of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Wet ingredients
2/3 cup brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (can substitute for any light flavoured oil)
1 tablespoon coconut butter
In a large mixing bowl, mix up the rolled oats, raisins, almonds, dates and dried berries. Add in the sesame seeds, sea salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a microwave proof bowl, mix the brown rice syrup and coconut oil until well combined. Drop the coconut oil in it and break apart as much as possible.
Heat in the microwave until melted (time depending on your microwave- for me it was 1.5 minutes)
Remove from microwave and pour the liquid over the dry mixture and ensure it is very well combined
Grease a cake tin/baking tray or line with parchment paper. Press the mixture into it and refrigerate immediately. Allow granola bars to set before cutting bars into 6 pieces.
OR…
I did it this way…
In a large mixing bowl, mix up the rolled oats, raisins, almonds, dates and dried berries. Add in the sesame seeds, sea salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a saucepan, mix the brown rice syrup, coconut butter and coconut oil until well combined. Very gently heat of a medium heat, stirring continuously to avoid burning.
Remove from the heat and slowly pour the liquid over the dry mixture and ensure it is very well combined.
Grease a cake tin/baking tray or line with parchment paper. Press the mixture into it and pop it into the freezer. Allow granola bars to set before cutting.
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