Healthy Granola Bars

When I was searching for a recipe for granola bars, they all had so many ingredients that I would have to go out and buy. I didn't want to make them if it was significantly cheaper to go out and get a box of granola bars. I stumbled upon this recipe for five ingredient granola bars from Minimalist Baker. It's great because I only had to buy a couple ingredients, and it gives you the freedom to add anything in your pantry! I had some stale raspberry yogurt covered pretzels that were a great addition! I changed the recipe a little to account for the extra ingredient. 

Note: when you're buying peanut butter, make sure it's natural! The brands we all love, like skippy and jiff, can have hidden trans fats. When reading the ingredients on peanut butter look out for "partially-hydrogenated oil." This is when they take unsaturated oils (healthy oils) and make them unhealthy my adding high temperatures and a metal catalyst. This makes it so the oil doesn't separate from the peanuts. To make your bars as healthy as possible, use all-natural peanut butter (free of saturated fats and trans fats)! 

Here is my take on the five ingredient granola bars:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup packed dates, pitted 
• 1/2 cup honey 
• 1/2 cup creamy salted natural peanut butter 
• 1 cup roasted unsalted almonds, loosely chopped
• 1 cup yogurt covered pretzels, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute)
2. Toast your oats in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
3. Place oats, almonds and dates in a bowl – set aside.
4. Warm honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout.
5. Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper (I wanted to produce a large quantity of thinner bars, for thicker bars use a smaller pan)
6. Press down until uniformly flattened (I used a spatula)
7. Place in the fridge to harden for a couple hours 
8. Remove bars from pan and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days.