I've been making variations of these energy bars for over 10 years now. I've taken them traveling, I've taken them on days when I was shuttling between school, work, and dance rehearsals and out all day on the road.
I even took a big batch of them to Europe this past February - March when I was traveling there for a month. They were a lifesaver for a allergy-laden mostly vegetarian girl like me when I needed something filling, or something with protein.
And did I mention they were easy? Super easy. If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I like easy.
And there's so many ways you can tweak this to suit you (and whatever's in your cupboard!)
I actually stopped making these for a while when I couldn't figure out a gluten-free, oat-free, nut-free version to replace the original recipe (found in the Vancouver Sun magazine). Looking around, I found it was incredibly difficult to actually find any sort of gluten-free, nut-free, oat-free energy / protein bars. Finally, with some finagling, and many, many versions I came up with this tasty, healthy super simple no-bake option.
Why nut-free and oat-free? Well gluten free oats are not always easy to find, and if you happen to be allergic to oats anyway (or nuts) you need an alternative!
One of the ways I switch these up is by adding chopped red goji berries from time to time, for a tart flavour.
Ingredients for Vegan, Gluten Free No Bake Snack Bars (makes 16 squares)
4 cups vegan, gluten free brown rice cereal (I like these sprouted brown rice crisps)
1/2 cup finely chopped dried fruit - like raisins, cranberries, blueberries, or goji berries (see the red berries in the photos)
1/2 cup chopped nuts OR seeds like flax, hemp, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, etc.
1/2 cup peanut butter OR other nut or seed butter (wanna make your own? Check my post on making seed and nut butters)
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey for a non-vegan option)
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Directions
Grease a 9x9" baking dish.
1. In a medium-sized bowl, toss together brown rice cereal, dried fruit, and nuts.
2. In a large bowl, mix peanut / seed butter, molasses, maple syrup, and chocolate chips. Microwave the butter mix for 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla, then mix in cereal mix. Press into baking dish (get your hands in there) and let cool. Cut into 16 squares.
For a non-vegan snack, I love crumbling these over yogurt. For a vegan option, you could mix them into vegan ice cream.
What's your favorite traveling snack?
Have you seen my gluten free pasta book Recipes for Unusual Gluten Free Pasta: Pierogis, Dumplings, Desserts and More! ? Get yourself a copy and start making GF won tons, pierogis, dumplings, and orzo today :)
This post was shared on the following great link parties: Plant Based Potluck Party, Meatless Monday on the Fit Foodie Mama, Meatless Monday on Tina Muir,
These look like a great treat! I love a simple no-bake snack that can be healthy and feel like a treat at the same time. I have all these ingredients at home too - bonus! Thanks for linking up with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Cassandra! I like these because they're not as sweet as a lot of other protein / snack bars, too, so they're easy to munch on :)
DeleteMmmmm these sound great for on the go, and you are right they are easy! That makes a huge difference! Thanks so much for linking up with us, I hope we see you on meatless monday linkup every eek from now on :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting and stopping by, Tina!
DeleteWil give these a try I haveceliac and now oats is a problem will be happy if this works for me thank you
ReplyDeleteWil give these a try I haveceliac and now oats is a problem will be happy if this works for me thank you
ReplyDeleteAwww, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you enjoy the bars, I eat them all the time!!
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