I call these Everyday Superfood Granola Bars because well, they are bars you can eat every day and they are packed with superfoods. Seems like a logical name, right? Plus they are very quick and easy to make with ingredients you probably have right now.
I love having a power snack at my fingertips to ensure I'm not ravenous by lunchtime or worse, "hangry"! This is also helpful if lunch gets pushed a little later because mornings in the office are typically pretty busy. I'm not the only fan of this granola bar recipe though -- both Vienna and Walker love them. However, I'm sure they'd both prefer more chocolate chips - you can use your own discretion on that ;)
Making these healthy granola bars together with Vienna is my favourite! And the raw batter is safe to eat which means we can taste test as we go along. Taste testing allows you to adjust the ingredients and add just the right amount of maple syrup too. I only add 3 tablespoons of syrup because the chocolate chips are sweetened.
This recipe is originally from my hugely popular Joyous Kitchen Challenge that we ran in January! I decided to put these on the blog because they were such a loved recipe. And they are always a hit in my household too. I make the Cranberry Walnut Breakfast Muffins and the Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies often, so it's nice to change things up! Many people made them and posted them in the Joyous Health Community on Facebook -- please feel free to join me in my private Facebook group.
The heartiness of these bars is because of the oats which are fibre-rich and nourishing. I used to avoid oats because they were heavy on my digestion, but when they are ground up as is the case with this recipe, I find them very easy to digest.
The fibre in these bars nourishes our gut microbiome and they are super blood sugar balancing too.
Feel free to swap with another nut or dried berry. They are very versatile. The only ingredients you should really stick to are the oats and the banana. The banana is necessary because there are no eggs in these bars so you need something with sticking power.
From goji berries to cranberries, pumpkin seeds and walnuts - they are super rich in vitamins A, C, E and minerals like zinc, iron and magnesium.
These nutrients are essential for healthy and resilient children . Vitamin A and C are great for keeping the immune strong and healthy eyesight and vitamin E is essential for protecting the cells from free radical damage. All these ingredients together in one scrumptious bar make for a good crunch, delicious blend of flavours and super satisfying snack.
Snacks
Everyday Superfood Granola Bars
Print
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups rolled oats or oat flakes
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
- 1/4 cup goji berries
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I like Enjoy Life)
- 2 large bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line an 8" square pan with parchment paper.
- Place oats into a blender or food processor. Blend until ground up but not finely ground to a flour texture. You'll want the oats to still have a little texture.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground up oats and cinnamon. Add pumpkin seeds, walnuts, cranberries, goji berries and mini chocolate chips.
- In a small bowl, combine mashed banana, coconut oil and maple syrup.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Pour oat mixture into a square baking dish and flatten with a spatula.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days or in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Makes 8 large bars.
These bars would be delicious with a Rise and Shine Latte or a the McJordan Family Smoothie.
Enjoy these wonderfully nourishing and super yummy, totally plant-based bars!
Have a joyous rest of your week,
Joy xo
This sound delicious! But sadly I can’t eat bananas 🙁 any substitution?
ReplyIf you're not allergic to eggs, I would add 1-2 eggs and some applesauce. The bananas help the sticking factor, which eggs can do to. And you'll want to add something to sweeten them a bit more too. If you don't eat eggs you could use honey to make them stick. Ideally you don't want to heat honey, but you can make exceptions once in a while of course!
I’m allergic to eggs too... it’s very sad. I’ll have to try it with honey. Thanks for the tips!
You're welcome! Try this recipe here: https://www.joyoushealth.com/26288-blog-joy-s-granola-bars no bananas and instead of brown rice syrup you could do honey. I've got really yummy Chocolate Protein Bars in my first cookbook Joyous Health: https://www.joyoushealth.com/4-books-joyous-health Enjoy!
Hi Joy, I am enjoying your recipes! I tried the roasted cauliflower and my son who is 15 loved it and ate most of it.
ReplyPerfect! I love it when I hear parents tell me their kiddo loves my recipes. Way to go cooking great food for your guy!
Thanks for your awesome work, Joy! You mentioned Enjoy Life chocolate chips. I have only been able to find that brand made with cane juice or brown sugar, and the brands with stevia have a longer ingredient list. What are you thoughts on sugars in chocolate chips? Thanks!
ReplyI'm okay with it because it's a small amount the chocolate chips are a nice hit of sweetness in this recipe. However, if you want to avoid chocolate chips you could use raw cacao nibs instead.
Hi Joy Can you sub the coconut oil in this recipe?
ReplyYes for sure. You could use ghee, avocado oil, melted organic butter -- those would all work.
Can you use the quick oats from Costco for these????
ReplyI was wondering if these could be make with the quick oats from Costco? If not, what is the difference? I am itching to make these!
ReplyYes definitely. Quick oats are a little more refined, but they will definitely work :)
Love these bars. Love your energy and all of your recipes. How does someone get to do a teaching video class on your site?
ReplyThanks Barb, glad you love these bars!
I'm not sure I understand your question. What do you mean? How do you access the online programs I offer?
Joy, I enjoyed your granola-bars. I made them today I didn't have goji berries so I replaced them with coconut and it was pretty good. Thanks for the recipes. Christine
ReplySounds wonderful! Glad you loved them Christine, thanks for your comment!
I have watched how to make kombucha on a video on the emails I receive from you. If someone has information to pass on to others can they do a video class like the kombucha video.
ReplyOh yes of course. Rachel works for Joyous Health and she is also a holistic nutritionist which is why she did the kombucha DIY program for us. We don't typically feature other nutritionists in our online programs aside from myself or Rachel because we are part of the team and we are not looking to hire any new people. Thanks for your inquiry!
Hi! I love your recipes. I’m allergic to nuts. What would be an equally nutritious substitute for walnuts, please?
ReplyHi Michelle, thanks!
Any seed, try sunflower or pumpkin seeds - assuming you're not allergic to seeds?
My bars kind of fell apart when I went to cut them - any suggestions? Did I not cook them for long enough?
ReplyWhen you put them in the pan, you need to make sure you really pack them down with your hands. The other thing is when you grind the oats if you end up turning them into flour they may not stick together as well. I'm not sure it would be the cooking time, it's really hard to say.
Easy to make and more so because I had all the ingredients.I omitted the chocolate bits and didn't feel the bar needed it (for me). I think this may be a good snack to bring on a trip. Thanks for the tasty recipe Joy!
ReplyYou're welcome Mamie! Glad you love them :)
I made these bars and took them to work and they disappeared so fast. Now everyone wants the recipe. Love them
ReplyGlad to hear it! Thank you for sharing :)
These are so delicious. I’ve made them repeatedly and they are such a great grab and go snack!!
ReplyHappy to hear that Wen!
These are SO GREAT Joy! Thank you
ReplyYou're welcome Laura, enjoy!
Any substitute for oats? Thanks
ReplyYou can try quinoa flakes
You could try quinoa flakes?
What a wonderful, tasty bar! So easy to make. Didn't have cranberries so I added dried blueberries, couldn’t use bananas so I used your suggestion of 2eggs and applesauce. Really great snack. Keeps me full until lunch. Thank you!
ReplyThat's perfect, so glad you enjoyed them!