Peanut Butter Granola Bars (No Bake)

Younger daughter, Elisabeth, is a very active 18-year-old high school senior and a member of a studio dance team.   She tends to snack on store bought granola/nutrition bars and takes “Healthy Choice” meals for lunch.  Lately, she has been burned out on the usual store bought fare and I have been wanting to cook up, nutritious “grab-and-go” food for her.

Enter the homemade granola bar.  This particular granola bar recipe is perfect: nutritious,  easy to prepare and tasty.  The recipe is from Anne P’s website  fANNEtastic food.   Anne P is also working towards becoming a Registered Dietitian (like myself).  Thank you Anne P!

A brief blurb about where to purchase the ingredients in the Oly area:

Although I went to several stores, you can purchase everything on the ingredient list, except for the brown rice syrup, from Fred Meyer’s health food aisles.  The seeds are from the bulk bins.  Chia seeds are in the smaller jars that you bag yourself.  You can even grind your own peanuts to make natural peanut butter at Fred Meyer OR you can purchase it in jars.

Brown rice syrup is a little elusive but it is available at The Olympia Food Co-op.

I hope this will save you time when making the recipe.  I am usually toting around a preschooler so I like to get grocery shopping done quickly.

Ingredients

1 cup  crisp puffed brown rice cereal

1/4  cup  pumpkin seeds (I used roasted and salted pumpkin seeks instead of raw pumpkin seeds.)  Pumpkin seeds are also known as pepitas.)

1 3/4 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup  sunflower seeds

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup  flaxseed (I used whole instead of ground flaxseed and increased the amount to 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

1/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter (I substituted the natural peanut butter for regular peanut butter.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix.

Place all wet ingredients in a medium, microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave about 20-30 seconds.

Mix wet ingredients until well blended.  (I didn’t get a picture of this step so check fANNEtastic food for pictures.)

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients bowl.  Mix, mix, mix until ingredients are well distributed.

Place the mixture in a shallow pan.  (I used a 10″ x 10″ pan and also spritzed it with olive oil using an oil sprayer.

I wasn’t sure how easily I could remove the bars later on.)

I lightly pressed the mixture into shape in the pan.

Cut the granola into bars.  I cut mine into 16 squares.  The mixture is crumbly but holds the bar shape once refrigerated.

Cover and store in the refrigerator.

I made these bars in the morning and came home in the afternoon to wrap them in individual bars so

E can grab one as she is headed to dance class.