Just Right Trail Mix Granola Squares #Vegan #GlutenFree
By admin
Last week I started to feel a slight scratch in my throat, more of a nuisance than anything. I had just gotten home from the mountains and both my mom and sister in law were feeling under the weather. I kept my fingers crossed that my body would fight off what they were dealing with.
Let’s fast forward to yesterday… my body fought hard for 7 days but I guess this bug was just too strong. It caught up with me.
A gross throat, an even more gross stuffy nose and a head that feels as if it wants to explode. I’m sure you didn’t want to know those details, but hey, it’s what I do.
Anyways, all of that is to say that I’m feeling under the weather and I’m bummed because I had an awesome kettlebell workout I wanted to share. It’s going to have to wait until tomorrow (hopefully). It’s a good one and I definitely don’t want to put it off longer than I have to.
So be ready!
Snack Time
Instead, for today, I’m sharing an awesome recipe I made this past weekend (which I had planned to share on Friday).
I like to make snacks for Dan because he eats a lot! And almonds just don’t cut it. But I’m pretty sure I have eaten more of these than he has.
Oops.
I’m waiting for him to say “what happened to my squares!?” To which of course I’ll reply, “I guess you ate them all…”
See what I did there?
These have been perfect for pre-workout fuel and I’ve been munching on them while tossing dinner together. Yup, I’m guilty of snacking while cooking. When you don’t eat dinner until 9:30, you get hungry!
Oh, and they’re REALLY good when broken up in to a thick and creamy chocolate peanut butter shake… trust me and try it!
I call these “Just Right Trail Mix Granola Squares” because seriously they are the perfect combination of crunchy with a bit of chewy to them. I think that if a Natural Valley Bar and a Chewy Quaker Bar had a baby, this would be it.
Oh and I did I mention these are both vegan and gluten-free?
Just Right Trail Mix Granola Squares
Ingredients:
1 cup oats
1 cup goji berries
1 cup trail mix (I used “power trail mix with nuts and seeds”)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup coconut sugar
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
Directions:
1. Pre heat oven to 250-degrees.
2. Toss all dry ingredients (oats, berries, trail mix, coconut) into a blender or food processor and slightly chopped.
3. In a small pot bring sugar, honey, peanut butter and oil to a light bowl. Stir consistently to avoid burning the sugar. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well.
4. Pour onto parchment paper and press with a wooden spoon to thin it out (like pizza crust) into a square, keeping it about 1/2 inch thick.
5. Bake for 23-25 minutes until slightly browned. Turn off often and crack the door, allow it to sit 5 minutes before cooling on the counter.
6. Once cool, cut into 2 x 2 inch squares and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
With a race just days away, I am focused on high nutrient dense food, liquids and rest. I’m hoping these have a secret ingredient to help speed up my recovery! If nothing else, they taste amazing and I know they’re a heck of a lot better than the boxed options mentioned above!