Guilt-Free No-bake Granola Bars

Store-bought granola bars are often loaded with sugar and other hard-to-pronounce ingredients. Avoid nasties, and save money by making your own healthy and delicious granola bars at home.

One of best things about these bars is you can play around with the recipe and personalize to include your favorite ingredients. Feel free to substitute different types of nuts or add in dried fruits, rice crispies, cacao nibs or even choc chips.

Once you’ve made these bars a few times, you should have a good idea of the ideal wet to dry ratio which makes experimenting easier. The trick is to mix about 4 cups dry ingredients to 1 cup wet but if you prefer them extra sticky, add more nut butter, honey or your preferred alternative.

If you’re feeling especially lazy or are in a hurry, you can sub in 4 cups of your fave store bought granola instead of making your own mix too.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• ½ cup chopped almonds

• ¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

• ½ cup pumpkin or sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds

• 1-2 large pinches of sea salt
• ¾ cup unsalted almond or peanut butter
• ¼ cup honey

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C, fan-forced and line a 20 x 30cm rectangular baking tray with non-stick paper.
• Start by toasting the oats, nuts, sunflower seeds and coconut flakes in the oven until they’re slightly colored, crunchy and fragrant (no more than 10 minutes). When ready, remove from the oven and set aside. (If you don’t have an oven (or its unreliable!), you can use a large flat frying pan instead. Just be sure to stir the ingredients at regular intervals so they toast evenly.)
• Measure the honey and nut butter into a large mixing bowl. Mix together well. (You can heat the wet ingredients to mix more easily in the microwave or on the stove if necessary.)

• Measure out the remaining dry ingredients (chia seeds, flax seeds, and sea salt) and add them straight to the mixing bowl along with the toasted ingredients.
• Use a big spoon to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir well, making sure there are no pockets of dry oats.

• Spoon the mixture onto the prepared baking tray as evenly as possible. Using your (clean) hands firmly press the mixture until compact and uniform.
• Refrigerate for 2-3 hours until firm, before slicing into bars. Store in the fridge in an airtight container, with sheets of baking paper between each layer of granola bars to prevent them from sticking to one another.
• And finally, enjoy your guilt-free granola bars for a snack!