Home-made granola bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup muscovado sugar
• 1/4 cup neutral-tasting oil (like canola/rapeseed oil, sunflower or grape seed)
• 1 medium-sized, ripe banana, pureed with a hand blender
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of good quality, flaky sea salt
• 2 cups of porridge oats
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/3 cup ground flax seed

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Preparation

• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line a 30x20cm (or equivalent square version baking tin with non-stick parchment paper .
• Mix oats, almonds and coconut, then spread the mixture evenly on baking tray and put in the oven for 10 minutes or until the coconut turns really fragrant and takes on a bit of color.
• In the meanwhile, combine the pureed banana, honey, oil, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has melted and the mixture (except for the oil which floats on top) has come together.
• In a separate large bowl, combine all the remaining dry ingredients plus the oats, almonds and coconut once they're done in the oven. Add the banana-honey-oil mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well (every last bit of dry crumb should be covered, otherwise the bars don't hold together that well).
• Pour into the prepared baking tin and use a rubber spatula to spread out evenly. Cover with another piece of parchment paper and press downLeave to cool completely before transferring to the fridge for another 1-2 hours so that bars, once you cut them, don't fall apart.
• Carefully turn the set mixture onto a large cutting board (or another sheet of parchment paper on your work surface) and use a large sharp knife to cut the mixture into whatever size of bars you prefer.
• You can store them in airtight containers at room temperature for a couple of weeks (make sure you put sheets of greaseproof paper in between to prevent them from sticking together). Like that they stay nicely solid and are just a simple grab away from being added to your lunchbox or for a breakfast on the run.