I used to get boxes of 48 granola bars at Costco, so I'd always have a few available for transporting calories to keep me going. I started to realize at some point that they didn't seem to keep me full for very long, and I wondered if they might e contributing to my GI symptoms. Well, I turned out to be right. I've desperately missed granola bars, however, and was pumped when my nutritionist helped me make granola bars! I dreaded it, thinking it'd be a long and complex process, but it was amazingly simple, and really quite delicious!
Ingredients
Bar:
½ cup coconut oil (or peanut/almond butter, or a subtle-tasting oil)
3 cups ground oats
1 cup all purpose flour (can be GF flour!)
2/3C brown sugar or *coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (I use alcohol-free from Trader Joe's)
1 tsp baking powder
Filling:
2C chopped fresh or frozen fruit**
¼ C honey or maple syrup*
2 Tbs tapioca starch (optional! It thickens the filling, but I haven't tried it yet)
1 tsp vanilla extract
*you can replace any of these sugars with a sweetener of your choice. Most sweeteners, oddly enough, don't trigger MCAS. Consider glycemic index, especially if you have issues with blood sugar spikes or POTS, but also coconut products are anti-inflammatory (according to my nutritionist, the internet seems to be on the fence)
**You can fill these bars with whatever fruit you think will be tasty! At the moment I can only tolerate apples and mangoes, so that's what I use, but blueberries would be great (and very nutrient-dense, including DAO, which fights histamine)
Instructions
1. Combine coconut oil (or your substitute), oat flour, flour, sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder and ¼ cup water. I find it's easiest to just mix with my hands.
2. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9 X11 baking pan.
3. Meanwhile in a pot, add the chopped fruit, tapioca starch (optional), vanilla, and maple syrup (or substitute). Heat until bubbly and thickened, about 10 minutes.
4. Add the filling to first layer of oatmeal mixture.
5. Spread the remaining oat mixture over the filling (can get tricky -- clumps are ok)
6. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
7. Cut and freeze (I think they're delicious frozen, especially on a hot day, but if you don't have histamine issues, you can also just eat them fresh)
Enjoy! These bars took me very little time and are so customizable. You can add nuts, other grains like quinoa, or can slim them down to the basics if you're on a stricter diet. I found that they kept me satiated for a very long time. I have also doubled the recipe and then had tons ready to go in the freezer.