I’ve adapted this recipe from one my neighbor gave me out of a vegan/gluten free cookbook by Angela Lidden. If you use gluten-free oats, then the whole thing is gluten free!! For that matter, it is also dairy-free. Great for a breakfast on the go with a banana and some low fat milk (if you can have dairy).

 

Ingredients (long list but worth it)

Dry:

  • 1 ½ c. old fashioned oats
  • 1 ¼ c. crisp rice cereal (I try to buy the most wholesome brand I can find with lowest sugar content)
  • ¼ cup chia seeds
  • ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup raw whole flaxseed, ground up
  • ¼ cup whole raw almonds, chopped
  • ¼ cup craisins
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. sea salt (I have kosher salt on hand so I use that instead)

 

Wet:

  • ½ cup organic raw agave syrup
  • ¼ cup organic creamy peanut butter (look for the kind without hydrogenated oils!)
  • 1-2 Tbsp. maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

 

Directions:

  1. Coat a 9×13 inch pan lightly with olive oil, set aside.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl, set aside.
  3. In a medium sized sauce pan, mix agave syrup, peanut butter and maple syrup over medium heat until the mixture combines, softens and bubbles slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
  4. Pour wet mixture into the bowl with dry ingredients. Be sure to get all of the wet mixture into the dry, you’ll need it to hold the bars together! Stir the mixture gently with a wooden spoon until well combined.
  5. Transfer the mixture into the greased pan and using the back of the spoon or your hands (coated with olive oil), spread and press the granola into the pan. Be sure to press firmly, as this helps hold the bars together as well.
  6. Place in freezer for a minimum of 15 minutes (up to 30 minutes). Remove from freezer and cut into 12 bars. Place each bar in a small plastic bag, seal and place in freezer until ready to eat. When ready to eat, simply pull a bar from the freezer minutes before you’d like to eat it.

 

**Notes:

This recipe is very versatile. I typically use whatever nuts I have on hand, cashews, walnuts, pecans, etc. but almonds are my favorite. In place of the sunflower seeds or in addition to, you can use pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas). Additionally, I have used plain raisins in place of craisins if I didn’t have them, or added mini chocolate chips instead.

 

Nutrition:

*Calculated based on given recipe

Calories per serving: 206

Carbohydrates: 29g

Fat: 9g

Protein: 6g

Sodium: 90mg

 

Kate

Kate

Certified Exercise Physiologist at Body By Brent LLC
Kate