Nutty Granola Bars

[Please welcome back our guest food blogger, Jamie, along with her wonderful recipe!]

**Jamie’s passion for food and cooking began as a young girl, while watching her mother in the kitchen.  Her curiosity has pushed her to learn how to make a lot of her own products from scratch instead of buying it at the market like hummus, granola, yogurt, pickles, and much more.  Jamie is currently studying to become an Occupational Therapist and would love to incorporate cooking into her practice one day.**

It can be hard to find the right granola or power bar; they are usually too expensive, high in calories, or just taste bad.  These Nutty Granola Bars, loosely inspired by Kind bars, are high in protein and fiber, and super easy to make!  They are a perfect afternoon snack to get you through the long workday, quick energy before a workout, or an easy breakfast.

In my making these, I played around with spices, coffee grounds, and fancy Hawaiian sea salt to create a more complex flavor, but feel free to use whatever flavors you love.  Also, my friend dehydrates her own fruit so I was lucky enough to get to use a beautiful assortment of freshly dried fruits! 

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup millet puff cereal (or rice puff cereal)
• ¾ cup quick cooking oats
• 1 ½ cups almonds, pecans, and pumpkin seeds (use whichever nuts and seeds you like or have on hand)
• 1 cup dried figs, apples, peaches, and strawberries, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons coffee grounds
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup almond butter
• ½ teaspoon Hawaiian sea salt

Directions:

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place nuts, seeds and oats onto a baking pan and toast in the oven for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.

3. While nuts and oats are toasting, line an 8×8 baking pan with aluminum foil so that the edges hang over the side.

4. Chop your dried fruit.

5. Mix puff cereal, toasted nuts, seeds, oats, dried fruit, Chia seeds, coffee grounds, chili powder, and nutmeg in large bowl. Set aside.

6. Whisk honey, almond butter, and salt in a small saucepan for about 2 minutes or until smooth.

7. Pour hot mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir until dry ingredients are coated equally.

8. Transfer to lined pan and spread evenly. Using a spatula, or the bottom of a measuring cup, press mixture tightly.

9. Place in fridge for about 2 hours.

10. Pull block of granola out of pan using the overhanging foil and cut into bars.

11. Individually wrap bars in parchment and store in an airtight container.

 Yields 10 bars. Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

 BONUS KITTY PIC