Paleo Granola Bars

 

Homemade Paleo Granola Bars

I love clean eating, but I also love granola bars. It’s so hard to buy them at the store, because most of them are loaded with all kinds of sugar and other random things…which kind of defeats the purpose, don’t you think? If you’re in a pinch, as I usually am when I travel, KIND makes great granola and granola bars with all ingredients you can pronounce and they come in just about every flavor you could imagine. But if you’re able to, making homemade granola bars is so much better. You know what is in them and you can add whatever you want! All these ingredients aren’t cheap, but I’ve found that I usually have enough to make at least 2 batches, so really, I can get about 30-35 granola bars out of them…in which case, it becomes really cheap. this recipe is pretty basic, so feel free to play around with it and add whatever sounds good.

Paleo Granola Bars

 

• 3 cups assorted nuts (I used pecans, almonds, and pumpkin seeds)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups shredded coconut
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup almond butter
• ½ cup raw honey
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment or wax paper
2. Mix assorted nuts in a large bowl
3. Take 1 cup of the nut/seed mixture and place on a cutting board. Chop the nuts/seeds into smaller pieces with a sharp knife.
   

   coarsely chop 1 cup of mixed nuts

4. Place the remaining 2 cups of the nut/seed mixture into a food processor and pulse until they are chopped into much smaller pieces than the first cup.
   

   finely chop the remaining 2 cups of mixed nuts in a food processor

5. This assortment of sizes and textures will work well for the bars.
6. Add all the nuts back into the bowl and stir to combine.
7.  Add the dried cranberries and stir until well mixed.
8. Add the shredded coconut and mix well.
9. In a small saucepan, add the coconut oil, almond butter, honey, vanilla, sea salt, and cinnamon and heat over medium-low heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Remove from heat. Make sure to stir constantly to prevent burning/sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
   

   heat until melted, stirring constantly

10. Pour the liquid mixture over the nut mixture and stir to combine, making sure the nut mixture is evenly coated.
11. Pour the entire mix into the baking dish and use a second sheet of parchment or wax paper on top to firmly press and pack the ingredients together.
12. Let the mixture set and settle on the counter at room temperature for 2 hours
13. Cover and place in the freezer to set for 1 more hour
14. Cut into whatever size bars you like and enjoy! I cut mine into a typical “granola bar” shape and size. This recipe makes 16 typical granola bars.
15. I wrapped mine individually and put them all in a Ziploc bag and stored them in the refrigerator for freshness. 
16. ENJOY!