Nutty Berry Bars

Today I am going to share with you my take on granola bars. Absolutely packed with flavour, they are very substantial and will easily keep the hunger at bay for a few hours. They are a very good alternative to chocolate bars as they have much better nutritional value, are much healthier, and will keep you full for much longer! They really are more tasty too.

Ingredients:

100g oats

50g brown sugar

30g nut butter  (I used 15g of two sorts)

3 tbsp toasted sesame oil [or olive oil, coconut oil, or any others you see fit]

3 tbsp honey

100g dried berries

80g nuts

60g seeds

80g dark chocolate

3 tbsp water

For a lot of the above, it is completely up to you what combinations you use. Here is what I went for:

Dried berries: cherries, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries. You can use any dried fruits here, raisins and apricots would work well.

Nuts: almonds, brazil nuts, cashews and walnuts

Seeds: an omega mix of nuts which contained pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds,  sesame seeds, and   golden and brown linseed

Nut butter: half almond butter, half pumpkin seed butter. Any nut butter is fine, such as peanut or cashew too. It is up to you whether you use 30g of one type, or 15g of two.

I think dark chocolate really works well in these, as well as the added benefit it is full of antioxidants in comparison to milk or white chocolate. However, feel free to substitute the dark chocolate to whichever flavour you prefer, or even leave out if you so wish. 

Preheat your oven  to 180◦C. Roughly chop your nuts, chocolate and dried berries into small pieces. Don't spend time making all pieces the same size, a variation of sizes really works in this recipe. Add all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl: your chopped dried fruit, chocolate, and nuts, as well as the seeds, oats, and sugar. Give a good stir until well mixed. 

Now you need to prepare the wet ingredients: nut butter, honey, oil and water. Add all into a new bowl and stir until all mixed. The colour will look slightly different depending on which nut butter and oil you use. The mixture should flow, but not be too runny.

Now we need to add the wet into the dry. Do not do this all in one go. Try and spread it over 3 turns. Pour about a third of the wet mixture over the dry, and then mix this in. 

Add another third and mix this in. It should start to be coming together nicely now. Add in the last of the wet mixture, and mix well.

Now it just needs to go in the oven! Grease a baking tray (I used a square 21x21cm tray), and if you prefer, then line your baking tray with baking paper. Transfer your mixture from your mixing bowl into the baking tray. It is important that you tightly pack the mixture into the tray - use a spatula or fish slice to really push the mixture down into the tray, and get it as tightly packed as you can.

Place into your oven for 30-40 minutes. The edges will be slightly browner than the centre of the mixture, which should be golden brown. Don't be deceived if the centre looks a bit soft and bouncy to the press, it substantially hardens as it cools down. It is easy to be tricked and over cook it.

Allow to cool in the tray otherwise it will crumble to the cut. Once cooled, divide up how you like. I made this into 8 bars. If you used baking paper, you should be able to remove the whole thing at once by lifting the paper out. This will make it easier to cut up. If you didn't use baking paper, like myself, then using a sharp knife, I gently cut this up in the tray. The pieces should slide out effortlessly.

This bars can be enjoyed as a filling breakfast to last you until lunch time. Maybe you could pair with some greek yoghurt. As nuts and seeds are so high in protein, these would also make a great post-workout snack. Alternatively, if you are feeling a bit peckish in the evening after dinner, these are perfect for then too. They are absolutely bursting with flavour, which you can completely tailor to your preferences by what you choose to put in them.