Healthy Trail Mix Bars
Healthy Trail Mix Bars - a delicious and healthy treat or after-workout snack! Made with simple, real-food ingredients! (Gluten-Free Friendly + Plant-Based)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats use certified gluten-free if you want
- 1/4 cup ground flax
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 8 pitted dates
- 2/3 cup cashews
- 2/3 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup craisins
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 - 1/2 dairy-free dark chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
- 2 tablespoons Califia Plant Butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Melt: Add maple syrup, almond butter and Calfia Farms Plant Butter into a small saucepan. Bring to medium/medium-low heat. Stir occasionally (trying to break up the almond butter) and slowly melt together. Don't let it get too hot.
- Combine: Meanwhile, add dates, cashews and almonds to a food processor. Pulse several times to break down the nuts a little. The consistency should be pretty rough, but try to break up all the whole nuts so they stick together better in the bar. Set aside.
- Combine: Combine oats, flax, cinnamon, salt and sesame seeds in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Combine: Add the date/nut mixture to the oat mixture. Stir to combine.
- Let Cool: Once the maple syrup mixture has melted together. Remove from heat and let cool bit.
- Combine: Pour maple syrup mixture into oat/nut mixture and stir to combine.
- Stir: Add in dairy-free chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Parchment: Place a piece of parchment inside a 8x8 or 9x9 pan (cut the parchment so it overhangs on two opposite sides which will act like handles and allow you to pull the bars out of the pan easily).
- Press: Pour the mixture into the pan and press down firmly.
- Cover: Cover with foil and place in the fridge overnight.
- Cut: Remove by pulling up on the parchment paper. Cut into 12 larger bars or 24 smaller bars.
- Store: Store in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days.
Notes
- Gluten-Free: Feel free to use gluten-free certified oats to make these gluten-free!
- Cashews: Feel free to use either salted or unsalted. If you like that salty/sweet combo then I would recommend using salty. But I wouldn't recommend using both salty cashews and salty almonds - I would pick one or it might get too salty.
- Almonds: Feel free to use either salted or unsalted. If you like that salty/sweet combo then I would recommend using salty. But I wouldn't recommend using both salty cashews and salty almonds - I would pick one or it might get too salty.
- Craisins: I like using these.
- Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips: I used these.
- Creamy Almond Butter: Use a thicker almond butter (like this one). If you use a very thin, drippy almond butter the bars might not stick together quite as well.
- Melting the Almond Butter/Maple Syrup: Just a reminder to not let this get too hot - we are going for a slow, low heat melt. Once this is melted it is going to be mixed in with the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, which will melt if this is too hot.
- Pressing Down: I use a 8x8 pan for the bars and then too a 7x7 pan and placed inside, on top of the bars and pressed down real hard, but your hands should work well too!
- Storage: Store in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days. They can be left on the counter for a day or two, but they will last longer in the fridge.
- Nut Substitutions: Feel free to mix up the nuts you use instead of or in addition to the cashews and almonds; as long as you have approximately 1 1/3 cups of nuts you should be fine.
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