Mango Granola Bars

I like oatmeal, so it is no wonder that I love granola bars. It also known as energy bars or snack bars. I usually eat this before or after a cardio workout. Whenever I want something crunchy with a hint of sweetness, this is my go-to-food.  I consider this to be one of the healthy snacks; but there are some granola bars in the market that are loaded with sugar - high fructose corn syrup, melted chocolate, chocolate chips, maple syrup. Since  most of the available bars in the market contain wheat germ, wheat cereals and corn syrup, and with my allergy history (allergic to corn and wheat), I decided to make my own granola bars.  I added a Filipino touch to this version by using dried mangoes instead of the dried apricots or raisins. This is an easy recipe, even kids can prepare this with adult supervision. Health buffs can have these bars without feeling guilty

My Mango Granola Bars Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Rolled Oats (old-fashioned oats)

1/4 cup rice crispies/rice cereals

3/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup peanuts, crushed (or any choice of nuts like pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

4 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried mangoes 

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚Fahrenheit.
2. Mix the peanuts, oats and sunflower seeds in a greased and lined baking dish or pan with waxed paper. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they won't get burned. 
3. Prepare another baking dish/pan (preferably 11 x 13 inches) for your granola by lining it with wax paper. 
4. Put the brown sugar honey, butter, and salt into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and mix well. 
5. Stir the grains, liquid glue and dried fruit altogether in a large bowl. 
6. Mix everything really well until the grains and dried fruit are coated with the liquid glue. 
7. Spread the mixture in the pan with wax paper. Press well. Wait 3-4 hours. Wait for it to cool before slicing it into bars. 

If you don't have a convection oven, you can use an oven toaster to toast the grains. You can toast the grains in batches. You can make variations of this recipe. You can use little chocolate chips or raisins or any dried fruit instead of the dried mango. You can replace the dried fruit also with peanut butter if you like. You can make it all nutty-granola bars by mixing 2-3 kinds of nuts. There are so many possibilities for these granola bars. 

If you want healthier snack alternative, try this recipe. I'm sure you're going to like it =)