a simple {real food} recipe :: soaked granola bars {gluten, dairy, egg free with nut free option}

Ok guys, this has been one of my hardest recipes to nail down. I have been working on granola bars for a couple years now. After I read Nourishing Traditions just over 3 years ago, I learned about the importance of soaking grains, seeds, and beans. In short, the phytic acid in these foods can really irritate the gut over time, and causes a lot of digestion problems. Soaking/souring/sprouting grains breaks it down and makes the nutrients in the grains more available. My guess is that the majority of people who suffer chronic illness or stomach/digestive issues could heal or reduce their symptoms by cutting grains out for a period of time and then re-introducing with the simple step of soaking and/or sprouting grains.

The majority of recipes I was already using didn’t change by much by introducing soaking – in fact soaking actually makes rice, beans, and oats cook quicker anyway so it really made life a little easier. But I just could NOT figure out how to do a soaked granola bar without a zillion steps…or a dehydrator. *Sigh*…to have a dehydrator! If you have one – oh how I wish I could tell you how many things you could do with it if you aren’t already using it!

SO here’s the deal with my granola bars. There’s some give and take 😉 These are definitely soaked – so digestion will be great and you can eat these knowing your gut will thank you! On the other hand…I do not serve my granola bars “raw”. In order to be raw (maintain the integrity of the raw honey and everything else) you have to “dehydrate” your granola bars – meaning below 150 degrees. My oven goes to 170 and this IS how I dehydrate for granola cereal, but for the bars it just takes too long, and it isn’t worth it to me. One option I have seen done is to dehydrate just the oats and seeds after soaking and then make the bars – again I was just not into adding anymore steps than I had to. I really wanted to have something I was going to actually DO efficiently every month. Which is about how long this batch lasts our family – you may have to double it to make it last that long if you have bigger kids and/or more!

If you are new to the concept of “soaking” and are turned off by the extra step…I would say please make the recipe without the soaking – you may have to add some liquid like water or milk to help it stick together a little bit. But I would rather you make this unsoaked than go grab a box of granola bars off the shelf of the store that is filled with high fructose corn syrup and other preservatives! Take your baby steps and come on back to the soaking concept when you are ready!

So here’s my soaked granola bar recipe! I hope you love it as much as we do! It freezes fantastic and is perfect for packing in lunches for wherever you are going for the day!

TO SOAK:

4 cups oats (Not quick oats. If you are gluten free make sure the oats say “gluten free” like the Bob’s Red Mill kind)

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup whey, whole yogurt, or real lemon juice

1. The night before you want to make the bars, put the oats, sunflower seeds, and whey in a medium mixing bowl and fill just to cover, with water.
2. Place in a warm spot in your kitchen or under the light in the oven overnight 12-24 hours.

AFTER SOAKING:

Soaked oats and seeds from above

1 cup almond flour (If you are nut free use 1/2 cup coconut flour)

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (Watch ingredients – should just be peanuts and maybe salt – or make your own! If you are nut free use sunbutter.)

2 cups shredded coconut (I get mine cheap in bulk at our local health food store but THIS is a good brand if you don’t have access to that)

½ – ¾ cup chia seeds

1 cup raisins or dark chocolate chips (watch ingredients – no soy!)

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp sea salt

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup raw honey (Local if possible or THIS is a good brand)

1. Strain out the oats and seeds letting it drain in the sink for a few minutes – you can squeeze out some of the liquid.
2. Put the strained oats and seeds along with the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl – stir to combine.
3. Spread the mixture on a large cookie sheet or 2 small ones – no parchment or greasing required!
4. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes for cakey-ier bars, or 350 for 30 minutes for a little crisper.

Kitchen Tips:

1. The HANDS ON time to make these is really very minimal. The soaking process takes a while but you don’t have to do anything to it! Just throw some oats and seeds in a bowl before you go to bed and sometime the next day you can strain them out, add the other ingredients and bake – it’s very flexible!

2. 

   Let it cool before cutting and cut into whatever shape you want. I make some larger and some smaller since both the girls and my husband and I eat them.

3. Get double duty out of your coconut shreds – make coconut milk first, then dry/dehydrate out the coconut shreds and use them in your granola bars!
4. Flax seeds work vs the chia seeds if that is what you have.
5. If you decide to dehydrate the oats and seeds before you make the bars, you will end up with a crunchier end product, which I love…but again I just don’t have a dehydrator and I’m not willing to do the long dehydrating process in my gas oven for these. These turn out more chewy/cakey which is yummy too!
6. These will keep a week outside of the fridge, a couple weeks in the fridge, and months in the freezer. I usually make and freeze so I can just pull out a few at a time.
7. Maple syrup works if you are out of raw honey.
8. Any other dried fruit works if you don’t like raisins – again…I really need a dehydrator!
9. Read THIS on the importance of soaking grains and seeds.

YOUR TURN!

So what do you think?! Will you make up a batch for the lunchboxes?! Let me know what you think when you try them!

We went raspberry picking a couple weeks back and I have a delicious recipe to use up those berries if you have any coming on Friday! Come back and see what we did!

This post was shared at Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday!