Healthy Blueberry Granola Bars

the one thing no one ever told me when becoming a parent is that i should buy stock in grocery stores and even get a job working at one.

two words: food discount.

my kids are always hungry.

they talk about what they are eating for the next meal, while consuming a current meal.  seriously.

all things considered i'm pretty lucky.
they eat everything, yes everything.
flax seeds, sushi, quinoa, brussels sprouts, blue cheese, everything.  they have palates of 30 year olds.  

their eagerness over food actually makes cooking and baking an enjoyable task for me; they appreciate everything and always have something positive to say. (even on those occurrences where i fail to impress myself)

one of their favourite things to snack on are granola bars, and thanks to an ample supply of BC blueberries and a healthy recipe, we've reached healthy snack success in our house.  

#snackhappy #snackhealthy #snackoften

cheers.  xo.

for more healthy blueberry recipes, be sure to visit www.bcblueberry.com or their Facebook page.

Blueberry Granola Bars

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups puffed brown rice cereal, unsweetened
1 cup BC blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup dried BC blueberries
3 tablespoons flax seeds, ground
2 tablespoons chia seeds
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
3/4 cup unsweetened nut butter
1 tablespoon orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

method:
preheat oven to 325F.  grease a 9-inch square baking dish and line with parchment paper.
in a large bowl, mix the oats, puffed rice, fresh blueberries, almonds, sunflower seeds, dried blueberries, flax and chia seeds.
in a non-stick pan, heat the rice syrup, nut butter, orange zest, orange juice, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt, whisk until well combined and heated through.
pour the warmed nut butter mixture in the granola and combine to coat all the ingredients.  transfer to the baking dish and press down firmly with the back of a spatula.
bake in the middle rack of the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes.
allow to rest at room temperature until cooled.
remove block of granola from pan, peel away parchment paper and cut into bars.













yields: 12 bars
recipe & images courtesy BC blueberries