Do-It-Yourself Power Bars

This week, to get back into the groove of healthy cooking, I made Do-It-Yourself Power Bars from Heidi Swanson‘s Super Natural Cooking. I’ve been making my own granola for my morning cereal and other uses for awhile now. And I’ve only been buying snack/energy bars that only use natural ingredients.  So it was only a matter of time before I made my own bars. After trying these, I won’t buy premade bars on a regular basis anymore. These are so wonderful and so easy to make.

Do-It-Yourself Power Bars

Adapted from Super Natural Cooking

• 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/4 cups chopped toasted nuts (the original recipe calls for walnuts. I used pecans.)
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened puffed brown rice cereal
• 1 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/4 cup natural cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

Grease a 9″ by 13″ pan. Mix first six ingredients through the ginger in a large bowl. In a saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients. Stir continuously while it comes to a boil and thickens a bit. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until the syrup is evenly incorporated. Pour and press into the prepared pan. Cool to room temperature and cut into to bars.

Makes 21 bars.

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