I absolutely love seeing all of the different health bars out there--the packaging is eye-catching and the bars taste so great. But as I have said before... I'm ballin' on a budget, so some of the bars get a bit pricey. That's what inspired me to make some homemade snack/protein bars to enjoy when I need a filling pick-me-up that I can feel good about. Also I just really love trying to recreate foods and snacks that I try, so here we are...
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup oat flour
***can use pre-made or make your own by blending/processing 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup milled flax
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup almond butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips)
How to make it
- combine dry ingredients (rolled oats, oat flour, milled flax, and salt) in a medium bowl
- next add almond butter, honey, and almond extract to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined (this might give you a bit of an arm workout, but I promise it'll combine eventually)
- once everything is mixed well, add in the chocolate chunks and mix until well dispersed
- line an 8x8 square pan with parchment paper
- press the mixture down into the lined pan with your hands (wet your hands to make the process easier)
- let bars cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes to and hour before cutting into squares or whatever shape your heart desires!
- store in the fridge
Finished product
Variations
There are so many possible variations for this recipe. If you prefer a different type of nut butter (ex: peanut butter or cashew butter), you could switch these out for the almond butter. If you don't use almond butter or you don't have almond extract, you could substitute 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract for the almond extract. Also if you're looking for a GF version, just use GF oats. And for those of you looking for a vegan option, you could substitute agave nectar for the honey!
All in all
This no bake recipe is so simple, and only requires a blender. I'm thinking of continuing this quest to create yummy oat bars at a fraction of the cost of those oh so delicious snack/protein bars. What flavors would you want to see next?!
