Looking for easy and convenient? You got it!

Healthy no bake granola bars

When I saw a similar recipe a while ago my first thought was, this can’t be good,...

As a chef you need to challenge yourself so I tried it anyways because a lot of people are asking me for easy recipes. 

Made it and loved it,…this is my version,…

Ingredients (~makes 12 bars)

-200 g rolled oats (you can also use gluten free oats)

-handful of nuts, like walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pinenuts (pick a few different ones),

loosely chopped or whole

-10-15 cl maple syrup

-8 dates, pitted (optional)

-1 tablespoon coconut oil

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-3 tablespoons natural unsalted almond butter (or peanut butter)

-1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla extract)

-pinch of salt

Directions

1  Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form

a "dough" like consistency (mine rolled into a ball) (~optional step)

2  Mix the dry ingredients: oats and nuts.

3. Prepare the liquid mix: warm the maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Add the processed dates, coconut oil, almond butter, cinnamon powder and almond

extract.

4  Stir the liquid mix into the dry ingredients until the dry ingredients are completely mixed

in with wet ingredients.

5  Prepare dish: line the dish with parchment paper (as a frame of reference, I used a 16

cm to 26 cm glass dish, but other dimensions will work as well, smaller dish will result in

thicker bars).

6   Press down until uniformly flattened. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let set

in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden.

7  Remove bars from pan and chop into 12 even bars. Store in an airtight container for up

to a few days. I kept mine in the freezer to keep them extra fresh and to store them longer.

If you use them directly out of the freezer, let them sit for a few minutes at room

temperature and they will be ready to eat.

Optional step: Toast your oats in a 350 degree Celsius oven for 15 minutes before you start if you like the toasted flavor but this step is not required.

Other combinations: add dry fruits, chocolate chips, rice cereal.
For extra protein: add chia seeds, flax seeds