Quick & Easy Granola Bars

My love of vegan foods is growing.  Especially since I keep finding easy and delicious recipes to try.  My latest experiment...vegan gluten-free granola bars.  They are so easy and no-bake (which I love in this hot Arizona weather).  And like all great recipes, they are easily customizable. I found the original recipe here.  It is a delicious recipe, but the sugar content is WOW!! It contains 12-15 grams of sugar (for 16 bars depending on nut butter used).

So, I played around with it a bit.  I tried to cut down the sugar....by eliminating the brown sugar, using less brown rice syrup, and switching up the nut butter used.  What I learned....the brown sugar can be eliminated (but that only removes 1 gram of sugar per bar) and the brown rice syrup cannot be lessened.  Don't get me wrong, the mixture still tastes fantastic without as much brown rice syrup, but the bars do not stick together correctly.  It falls apart into a clumpy mess.  Here is the recipe I decided on....

Ingredients

2 c quick oats (we have bulk oats)
2 c crispy rice cereal (I use Erewhon, it's organic and gluten-free)
1/2 c of nut butter (I prefer almond, but I've used peanut)
2/3 c brown rice syrup
1/3 - 1/2 c chopped raisins
1/3 - 1/2 c vegan chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand)
1 - 2 tsp vanilla extract (the kind with no corn syrup)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 package of sliced or slivered almonds (optional, but yummy)
1/2 tsp salt (optional and not needed if nut butter is salted)

Combine nut butter and rice syrup in microwave safe bowl.  Heat for 1 min and mix.  Heat for another 1 min.  Add vanilla and cinnamon

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, rice cereal, raisins, and almonds.  Add syrup mixture and blend well.  Gently fold in the chocolate chips, being careful the chips don't melt.

Spread mixture into a foil- lined square or rectangular pan (original recipe says 8x8, I used 7x11).  Firmly pack down.  I like to save some almonds and chocolate chips to sprinkle on top.  Freeze for at least 1 hour or until set.

When set, pull foil out of pan and cut into bar shapes.  I aimed for about the size of a Quaker chewy granola bar and was able to get 16 bars.

ENJOY!!  You can store them in a "tupperware" container, plastic wrap, or mini plastic bag (which is what I use).









This recipe still contains a higher amount of sugar per bar than I would like, but I've decided I am ok with that.  Here is my reasoning.....I would rather have a chemical-free, higher-sugar, homemade granola bar than a low-sugar, chemically-altered store bought bar.  I avoid artificial sugars (and other artificial ingredients) as much as possible.  If you are worried about your intake of sugar, just be extra vigilant in your other foods.

Final nutrient count for 16 bars using plain almond butter and slivered almonds.  Keep in mind the majority of fat comes from the almonds and almond butter, so it is a good healthy fat.  Your nutrients will differ depending on nut butter used, as well as the amount of raisins, almonds, and chocolate chips used.