Homemade Nut Bars

Hi Everyone! I don’t know about you, but more often than not, when I get hungry around 3–4 pm, I find myself reaching for a store-bought granola or protein bar. While some of these bars are delicious and filling, I don’t always feel great about eating a packaged bar every day.

So, I figured I’d try making my own! And it turns out, they’re pretty easy to make—and I can almost guarantee you already have all, if not most, of the ingredients on hand. I don’t exactly know how many grams of protein are in each bar, but I can assure you - if you cut generously sized bars they will keep you satisfied until dinner! Or you can enjoy one for dessert too like Doug! :)

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Homemade Nut Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats

• ¾ cup roughly chopped nuts (any nut will do)

• ¼ cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds

• ¼ cup chia seeds (or other seeds you have)

• ½ cup of honey

• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

• 2 tsp vanilla

• ¼ tsp cinnamon

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (regular sized are just fine, too)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.

• Line an 8- or 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray.

• Spread the oats, nuts, and seeds onto an ungreased baking sheet. Toast for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

• Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

• Meanwhile, heat the honey and peanut butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

• In a large bowl, combine the honey and peanut butter mixture with the toasted oat, nut, and seed mixture. Stir until everything is evenly coated.

• Let the mixture cool for at least 5–10 minutes. You don’t want it to be too hot when you add the chocolate chips—but, of course, it’s not the end of the world if they melt a little. :)

• Stir in the chocolate chips.

• Scoop the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press firmly into one even layer.

• Bake for 15–20 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your bars. I suggest starting with 20 minutes the first time, and you can adjust from there!

• Carefully make your initial cuts while the bars are still warm. I usually cut once horizontally and then into about 8 bars—or 10 if you prefer them a little thinner.

  The bars may seem crumbly when they first come out of the oven, but don’t worry! Let them cool for at least 30 minutesand they’ll firm up considerably. Once cooled, go over your cuts one final time to separate the bars. Enjoy!