My father and brother both have this bad habit of going to work on a half-empty stomach every morning, and hoping that the tiny meal they had that morning would last them throughout the entire day.
As the only person who cooks in this family, I feel that it is my duty to take that habit away.
But how, I ask myself, am I going to do that if the only time I ever see them is before they leave for work? I had to think of grab-and-go meal, something they could easily take out whenever they felt a hunger coming on.
My solution? Easy-peasy Granola Bars.
These nutritious, calorie-free bars are child's play.
So here's my recipe.
Ingredients :
- 200g oats
- 100g wheat-germ
- 50g hazelnut
- 75g sunflower seeds
- 175g almonds
- 125g brown sugar
- 250g honey
- 1/3 cup butter
- 125g dried fruits
- 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tbsp vanilla essence
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
To crush the hazelnuts and almonds, pulse them in a food processor for about 30 seconds.
Then, mix the oats, wheat-germ, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts and almonds in a baking dish. Toast them in the oven for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes so they don't burn.
Meanwhile, line a baking dish for your granola with baking paper.
Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid 'glue', and the dried fruit.
Make sure you mix everything REALLY well because you want everything to stick together with the 'glue'. Now dump everything into your baking dish lined with baking paper.
Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Place another baking paper sheet on top of your mixture and press very hard all over. You want everything to be very compact so that your bars won't fall apart when you cut them.
Let the granola bars cool. I placed them right in front of a fan to speed up the process.
Slowly place the cooled granola onto a large cutting board and cut them into desired shapes.
Enjoy!
