“Take me to the beach” Vegan Granola Bars

Memorial Day weekend. First official beach weekend in Michigan which of course requires portable food. Gena Hamshaw of the blog Choosing Raw shares a recipe on HuffPost Taste every other Thursday and this one I have made several times since I discovered it. Perfect portable beach food.

The best part about this is recipe is that you can sub out just about anything you have in your kitchen for the dry components so long as you keep the wet component ratio (nut butter and agave or brown rice syrup) intact. The recipe doubles and triples well to boot.

Original Recipe:

• 2 1/2 C rolled or quick oats
• 1 C raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 C raisins
• 2/3 C nut butter
• 1/2 to 2/3 C agave nectar or brown rice syrup (adjust based on how well things stick together)
• 1/8 tsp sea salt (optional)

1. Mix together oats, pumpkin seeds, and raisins in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together nut butter, sweetener, and sea salt. Pour onto oat mix and mix well. If it is too dry add some more sweetner.
3. Press mixture into a shallow baking dish lined with parchment to form one large bar. Cut into shapes after 4 hours and wrap up for individual serving. They last 2 weeks, covered in the fridge.

Recipe for Bars Pictured:

• 2 1/2 C rolled oats
• 1/2 C dried cranberries
• 1/2 C mini carob chips
• 1/3 C dried coconut
• 1/3 C chia seeds
• 1/3 C sunflower seeds
• 2/3 C natural, crunchy peanut butter
• 2/3 C brown rice syrup

1. Mix together dried ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together nut butter and sweetener (I didn’t need salt due to sunflower seeds and peanut butter). Pour onto oat mix and mix well-dig your hands into it if you must! If it is too dry to stick together properly add some more sweetener.
3. Press mixture into a shallow baking dish lined with parchment to form one large bar. Cut into shapes after 4 hours and wrap up for individual serving. I can see this working out well as rolled spheres too. They have a great texture. Bars or balls will last 2 weeks, covered in the fridge.

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