Granola Bars (with 10 grams of protein)

A few years ago, I would’ve questioned the rationale behind making your own granola bars. It seems like a lot of work when you can buy “healthy” granola bars at every convenience store… right? Unfortunately, most of these options are not nearly as healthy as you might think. Most are highly processed and contain buckets of sugar.

So one rainy afternoon I made these granola bars and I’m never going back. They’re made with whole foods, no refined sugar and have 10 grams of protein in each bar. Keep them in the freezer and throw one in your bag before you leave the house.

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats (porridge oats)

1 cup natural peanut butter (just peanuts + salt)

1⁄3 cup honey or maple syrup

1⁄2 cup hemp seeds

3 tbsp ground flaxseed

1⁄4 cup pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp almonds, finely chopped

1⁄4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

Combine the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another.

Mix everything together - I use a spatula first, then my hands.

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Then press the mixture into the pan, cover and put in the fridge to harden for a few hours.

Cut into 10 bars, wrap each in plastic wrap and keep them in the freezer. (I don’t love using the plastic wrap! It’s fiddly and well, plastic-y. But I haven’t found a better solution just yet. I don’t want them to stick together or loose their shape. Suggestions welcome.)

My little nut pots

I’ve been working very hard to add more protein to my diet - I aim for a minimum of 20 grams per meal. When my protein intake is high, I have noticeably more energy and focus. Plus, I have fewer sugar cravings! Which is so important for me because once the sugar cravings start, it’s a downward spiral to iced rosé and salty chips for dinner.

This is an easy hack for adding 20 grams of protein to your breakfast. I add it to my yogurt and it keeps me full (and without cravings) until lunchtime. I just hosted a girls weekend at the lake house and these were a big hit.

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My little nut pots:

Notes:

This recipe makes 8 pots. Each pot contains about 18-20 grams of protein, depending on which nuts you use. I like to use a mix of almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts.

Ingredients for a batch of 8

Hemp seeds — 1 cup (160g)

Chia seeds — ½ cup (95g)

Pumpkin seeds — ½ cup (70g), toasted

Sunflower seeds — ½ cup (70g), toasted

Chopped nuts — 1 heaping cup (120g), toasted (almond/walnut/hazelnut mix)

Instructions

Toast your nuts and seeds on the stovetop in batches. (optional, but dramatically improves flavour)

Then make a little conveyor belt system and load your pots…

Each individual serving gets:

2 TBL hemp seeds

1 TBL chia seeds

1 TBL pumpkin seeds (toasted)

1 TBL sunflower seeds (toasted)

3 TBL chopped nuts (toasted)

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