No bake granola bars

So I am going to start with a confession, I used to hate granola bars. I thought they were cardboardy, crumbly chunks of healthy stuff that was meant mostly for guys who were trying to grow giant biceps!  Jini on the other hand enjoyed granola bars and wanted to make our own so that we can customise it to our tastes.

So in the spirit of growth and exploration I decided to get on board and make granola bars with Jini. The smart thing we both did though was that we went shopping together and picked out all kinds of dehydrated fruits, some gorgeous dates and tonnes of nuts (which we both adore) so the bars would be full of our favourite things. The two principles we agreed on was that there would be no added sugar and no baking; we wanted to keep it nice and easy!

So we made two versions of granola bars; one with chocolate (obviously) and one without, and both turned out delicious! Delicious enough for one of Jini's friends to say that she should start retailing the stuff.Lets get to the recipes then, so that you can make an eat or make and sell them!Recipe 1: 5 ingredient, 5 step granola barsWhat you need:

• 200 g dates (deseeded)
• 84 g honey
• 64 g peanut/ almond butter
• 112 g roasted nuts (use whatever you like, we used a combination of pistachios, walnuts and almonds)
• 1135 g rolled oats

How we stir:

• Pulse all the nuts to smallish pieces
• Zap the peanut butter and honey in a microwave for 15 seconds to melt and mix it together to combine
• Process the dates till it comes together as a pulp in a ball
• Throw everything together in a large bowl along with the rolled oats and pull it altogether. I liked doing it with my hands as it is a bit difficult to do daintily with a spoon
•  Once combined, press it down into a parchment lined baking tin, push down well to make it nice and even. Put it into the fridge for 2-4 hours, cut and enjoy!

Recipe 2: Choco-nut granola barsWhat you need:

• 90 g rolled oats
• 110 g of toasted nuts (we used pistachios and almonds because how beautiful is the green against brown)
• 125 g of walnuts
• 350 g dates (deseeded)
• 75 g cocoa powder
• 65 g nut butter
• 65 g honey
• 50 g chopped dehydrated fruit of your choice (we used mango and strawberry)

How we stir:

• Process all nuts together to small pieces
• Process dates till it comes together in a ball
• Mix the processed nuts and the cocoa powder together
• Warm the honey and nut butter in a microwave. Stir to combine
• Throw all the ingredients in a large bowl and bring it together with your hands.
• Press down into a parchment lined baking tray. We topped ours with a sprinkle of sea salt, because Jini like sea salt on everything and was such a success here.
• Chill in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours till set,slice and enjoy!

These are absolutely delicious, full of good fats and fiber and have pleased all the people who have tried them.They need to be stored in the refrigerator but keep well for a couple of weeks. Go go make them now, and enjoy guilt free snacking for a few weeks!