Paleo Granola Bars - Cheap, Delicious, and Easy!

I realize that we all want to be healthy, look fantastic, and not put a lot of effort into the process but you may be scratching your head wondering where to start. Its ok, I am here to help. Your life is busy, so I want to give you a recipe you can make in bulk for an instant meal replacement, snack to throw in the kids lunches, or even an afternoon cure to the sweet tooth monster. 

I will be launching some meal plans soon, but in the meantime here is a simple granola bar recipe that can be doubled or tripled to make in bulk for the whole family. Whip up a huge batch on the weekend when you have 10 minutes of prep available and while they are baking, you can clean up, have a cup of coffee, do some squats…the choice is yours :) I went the extra step and sealed mine in individual pouches but these can also be wrapped in wax paper or kept in an airtight container until ready to eat. You can also freeze these and pull them out to defrost the night before so you have snacks ready to grab in the morning. 

Paleo Honey Almond Chocolate Granola Bars

Yields 14

Paleo - Gluten Free - Grain Free - Unrefined Sugar Free - Kid Friendly - Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Toasted Almonds
• 1 Cup Toasted Cashews
• 1 Cup Pumpkin Seeds (not in shell)
• 1 Cup Sunflower Seeds (not in shell)
• 2 Tbl Flaxseed Meal
• 1/3 Cup Coconut Oil (unrefined)
• 1/3 Cup Honey (local, high quality please)
• 1/3 Coconut Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Sunflower Butter (or any other nut butter)
• 2 Egg Whites
• 1 tsp Fine Sea Salt (plus more for sprinkling)
• 4 oz Dark Chocolate finely chopped.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325F
2. Line a 9x11 rectangle baking pan with parchement paper sling so the paper hangs over the edges for easy removal.
3. Set aside.
4. Working in batches pulse the nuts/seeds in a food processor until the nuts/seeds are broken up into small pieces.
5. You can also chop the nuts but you don't want too big of pieces.
6. Transfer the chopped nuts back into the bowl with the whole nuts and add the flax seed meal.
7. In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the coconut oil, sunflower/nut butter, coconut sugar, honey, and salt whisking until well comined.
8. Pour over the nuts and stir until throuroughly covered.
9. Whisk the egg whites for 10 seconds to get some air and mix them into the nut mixture thoroughly.
10. Pour mixture into pan and using gloves or slightly wet finger tips, press the nuts firmly and evenly into the pan so it is one flat compressed layer.
11. Sprinkle with additional sea salt over the top.
12. Bake in the middle rack for 15-18 minutes or until the edges start to turn a golden brown.
13. Remove and allow to cool thoroughly.
14. Pull out of the pan and remove the parchement paper.
15. Cut the entire granola bars in half length wise to have two long pieces.
16. Then cut each half into 7 equal pieces to cut 14 bars roughly 1 1/2" in width and 4 1/2" in length.
17. Drizzle or dip into melted chocolate if desired (see notes).

Notes

1. It is completely up to you to toast the nuts and seeds before making the bars. They will taste so much better if you choose to do so, but its fine if you skip the step.
2. For the chocolate use a dark chocolate with 70% cacao content or higher. You can melt it in a double boiler or if in a pinch chop the chocolate finely and microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
3. If you don't feel like melting chocolate, chop it into chunks and fold into the nut mixture before baking.