Dried Fruit and Nut Crunchy Granola Bars

I’ve been running for a couple of years now. Mostly I do smaller races or just run for pleasure. Sometimes I go out on a “whim” and run 13 miles.

But in any of those cases, I need lots of fuel. Like this!

Just Kidding.

Okay, not really.

Enter the granola bar! Breakfast champ, snaking savant, all around wonder treat.

These are the picture of health. They are chock full of healthy and fiberful oats and flax, dried fruit, nutritious nuts and almond butter, and hardly any sugar.
The oats and flax meal are toasted in the oven to get an extra little bump of flavor and texture.

Sesame seeds are toasted in a pan. This definitely brings our the sesame flavor and smell (which I particularly enjoyed about these bars).

Tasty dried fruit and almonds! I used a mixture of dried mango and cranberries but any finely chopped dried fruit would work. And don’t even get me started on almonds. They are the power nut. Almonds are full of all kinds of good stuff you want in your body: healthy fat, fiber, nutrients.

The gooey mixture that binds all this together is made of honey, maple, almond butter, and brown sugar. It’s sweet and nutty and complements the rest of the ingredients really well.

You’ll feel healthy just making them!

Last Year: Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup with Pesto Cream

Dried Fruit and Nut Crunchy Granola Bars

Makes about 10 bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup oats
• ½ cup wheat bran
• 1 cup rice krispies
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, roasted
• 1/8 cup almonds, chopped
• ¼ cup dried fruit, chopped (I used a mix of dried mangoes and cranberries)
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• ½ tablespoon almond butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 glass baking dish, set aside. Place oats and wheat bran on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned a fragrant. Reduce heat to 300°F.

2.Meanwhile, place sesame seeds in a pan and roast over medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes.

3. In a large bowl place toasted oats and wheat bran, rice krispies, sesame seed, almonds, and dried fruit, set aside.

4.In a small sauce pan over medium heat, place honey, maple syrup, almond butter, and brown sugar. Heat, stirring occasionally, until brown sugar is melted, about 3-5 minutes. Pour honey mixture over dry mixture and mix quickly until combined. Press granola into prepared baking dish with spatula. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely (it may still be soft when you first take it out of the oven). Cut into desired sizes.