Cranberry Nut and Seed Granola Bars

Cranberry Nut and Seed Granola Bars

I find getting my teenagers to eat healthy a little trying at times, I think I may have waited too long before I tried to make healthy eating a staple in my house. My advice to new parents, introduce as many healthy foods to your babies as you can; familiarize them with different fruits and vegetables early.

I admit that we do have store bought snacks in our house but anything that is homemade is usually healthy. Credit to my kids, they do try it all and I usually don’t share the ingredients with them till after they’ve tried it. Mind you, when I am encouraging them to have brownies or cookies they usually guess that it’s a healthy version 😉

These granola bars are one of our successful afterschool snacks and loved by all of us.

 

Cranberry Nut and Seed Granola Bars

Dry:

  • 1 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/3 cup almonds
  • 1/3 cup walnuts
  • 1/3 cup cashews (coarsely chop the almonds, walnuts and cashews)
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Mix all the above ingredients together and spread out on a lined baking sheet. Bake at 300F for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

* This step is optional but I love the smell of roasted nuts and oats.

Add in:

  • 1 tbsp. chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp. flax seeds
  • 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside.

Wet:

  • 1 cup dates (softened in a warm water for an hour)

Blend with a little water.

In a saucepan on low heat add:

  • 1/4 cup pure honey
  • 1/4 cup almond butter (or natural peanut butter)
  • blended dates

Mix till all ingredients are combined.

Add the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, mix well till everything is combined.

Transfer the mixture onto a lined tray and pat till flat, mixture will be sticky.

Place the tray in the freezer for 1/2 hour.

Remove tray from freezer and cut into desired size bars.

Keep bars stored in the fridge or freezer.

Enjoy 🙂

Cranberry Nut and Seed Granola Bars