Olive and Mango’s Granola Bars are Healthy and Delicious

Image by silviarita from Pixabay

Granola bars are an extremely popular snack among fitness enthusiasts, but many store-bought brands happen to be packed with sugar and artificial flavors. Baking your own is a much healthier choice, and you can find countless granola bars recipes online.

The one that caught our eye was shared by Joanne Rappos, the author of food blog Olive and Mango. Her granola bars can be made with the basic pantry ingredients, and they make for a delicious, healthy, and crunchy pre-workout snack.

Ingredients

  • 2½ cups rolled oats
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup flaked unsweetened coconut
  • ¼ cup butter
  • ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup of add-in ingredients of choice

Instructions

  1. While preheating the oven to 350°F, grease a sheet pan and cover it with nuts and oats. Lightly toast them for ten minutes before transferring them to a large bowl.
  2. Pour your honey, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt into a small saucepan, and let them melt over medium heat, gently stirring until butter and sugar are properly melted.
  3. Stir the butter mixture into the oat mix, and give it around five minutes to cool down, before incorporating add-in ingredients of your choice—such as chopped toasted walnuts, almonds, pecans, dried cherries, and chocolate chips.
  4. Transfer the mixture to a lined baking pan, and press it firmly before placing it in the refrigerator for two hours.
  5. Cut the bars to your liking, and store them in an airtight container for up to a week.