Granola bars make for a delicious snack. They are filled with oats, dried fruits, and sometimes chocolate and packed with nutrients.
Unfortunately, most kinds you buy in the store are also filled with a laundry list of ingredients I’ve never heard of and can’t pronounce.
When I started a 30-day clean-eating challenge, I made my granola bars. I used this recipe as a jumping-off point (mainly the idea of the banana with almond milk base) and went from there to create my yummy combinations.
It’s nearly impossible (or was for me) to find any dried fruit without added sugar. I hoped to find dried apples, blueberries, cranberries, and mango to add to my granola bars, but everything I found listed sugar as an extra ingredient.
Not very clean. So my version includes raisins, dates, nuts, and chocolate chips (milk, soy, and nut-free variety). They’re tasty, filling, and a great snack to eat on the go!
Ingredients:
- 1 overripe banana, mashed
- ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 ½ cups oats (1 or 5 minutes both work fine)
- 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 packets of Stevia
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup raisins
- 15-20 pitted dates, chopped
- ¼ – 1/3 cup almonds, chopped
- chocolate chips (sprinkled over the top – optional)
Directions:
Combine the almond milk and mashed banana over medium heat on the stovetop. Mix well to combine.
Mix well with peanut butter, honey, Stevia, vanilla, and cinnamon. Turn the heat low and let it heat through while preparing the remaining ingredients.
Combine the oats, raisins, dates, and almonds in a mixing bowl.
Add the warm banana mixture and mix well.
Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and spread the granola bar mixture in the pan. I’ve found using a metal spoon to do this easiest. I like my granola bars thicker, so I didn’t spread the mixture over the entire pan. If you want thinner bars, you certainly can.
Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees F.
Sprinkle the granola bars with chocolate chips (optional).
Let the bars cool in the freezer for several hours.
Cut the bars into pieces and wrap them individually—store in the fridge or, for best results, in the freezer. I like to keep them in the freezer and eat one after letting them rest on the counter for a few minutes to take the chill off. Do not store these on the countertop due to the lack of preservatives and the banana.
Bon Appetit!
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