A new favorite snack, these really help satisfy those mid-morning hunger pangs. I discovered the basic recipe on Enjoying Healthy Foods blog a few weeks ago, tweaked it to suit my own preferences and thought it was too good not to share.
I love how easy it is to customize, that I know exactly what’s in it—no artificial ingredients or preservatives—and it is a snap to put together. Soft, chewy, and satisfying, these granola bites are great for on-the-go snacks, broken-up over yogurt, or added to morning oatmeal. Oh, so naturally good!
Ingredients
- 1 cup crispy almonds (or raw almonds)
- 1 cup sweetly spiced crispy pecans (or raw pecans)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 4 tablespoons sesame seeds -- divided in half
- 1/4 cup coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup dates -- chopped
- 1/4 cup dried blueberries
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- sea salt
Instructions
- Add almonds and pecans to a food processor and roughly chop. Mix with remaining fruit, seeds (reserve 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds), and coconut flakes in a mixer or stir by hand.
- Melt coconut oil in a sauce pan. Remove from heat and add almond butter and honey. Mix until well blended.
- Pour over nut & fruit mixture and mix to coat. Spread evenly in a parchment covered 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds and a touch of sea salt. Place in freezer for 2 hours to chill and set. Cut into desired shape and size.
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Shared on the following Blog Hops:
Mom Trends Friday Food
SS & GF Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Real Food Forager Fat Tuesday
YUM! These look so good (and easy! ) Would it work if I omitted the honey??
Yes, I think you could easily omit the honey or use brown rice syrup as a substitute if you like. I think the dried fruit adds a nice sweetness by itself. You might want to increase the amount of almond butter just a little so the dry ingredients are well coated and will stick together. I also think a little ground flax seed (maybe 2 tablespoons) would be a good addition nutritionally. Have fun with it and let me know how you like it
Ooh, those look delicious. I think I have everything on hand to give them a whirl, too!
Why do you use coconut oil? Is it a nutrition reason, or does it produce a different result than, say, canola oil? Thanks.
Primarily because of its nutritional value, but also because it is solid below 76° which helps the granola bites retain their shape. I store mine in the refrigerator.
There are many, but here are a couple of websites for learning more about coconut oil. We discovered this healthy oil a few years ago and use it in many ways.
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org
http://bit.ly/bZ4ZlZ (Dr. Mercola)
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, I appreciate that.
I made these, with a few minor modifications: I used toasted nuts instead of raw or soaked (we think they taste better) and used peanut butter instead of almond. These taste very good, but are rather expensive since they are all fruit and nuts, and contain no oatmeal–a main component of most granola recipes. They also have to be kept in the fridge. They fall apart into little greasy pieces at room temp. They are a good, high-energy snack for my son who has celiac disease, when he’s home. I prefer something that travels a little better, though.
Lucy, thank you so much for leaving a comment and giving feedback, I really appreciate that! Yes, I keep mine in the fridge too, and they do transport better at cooler temps. I’ve not experienced a greasy effect with mine, it could be the peanut butter causing that, as it is higher in fat than almond butter. Oats may help, substituting maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the nuts to help absorb the additional fat in the peanut butter, which reduces cost too. That’s what I love about recipes like this, it is easy to customize to suite preferences
I think these would be such a great treat for school lunches for the kids! I bake for mine because I like to send them a little something fun, but something where I know what’s in it!
Thanks for linking up with Momtrends this week!
~Shannon, Food Channel Editor, Momtrends.com
I buy these from the store all the time, but they can be pricey. This recipe is fantastic as I have to work around food allergies. We have a peanut allergy, but no treenut allergy. Thanks so much for sharing this! I can’t wait to try it out on my family.
Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. This was very interesting! Hope to see you next week!
Be sure to visit RealFoodForager.com on Sunday for Sunday Snippets – your post from Fat Tuesday may be featured there!
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/fat-tuesday-october-18-2011/
If you have grain-free recipes please visit my Grain-Free Linky Carnival in support of my 28 day grain-free challenge! It will be open until November 2.
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/grain-free-real-food-linky-carnival/