I’ve been feeling tropical lately because it’s been sunny here in Vancouver and it makes me feel almost as though summer is just around the corner. As a result, I decided to make a batch of tropical granola bars by packing them full of dried mangoes, coconut, papaya, and pineapple. These Tropical granola bars are so perfect for the summer time!
To be honest I didn’t think these would turn out well because I haven’t had much success in making baked granola bars because there aren’t many good recipes out there that are both nut and date free. I’m not allergic to nuts but I am one healthy lifestyler who absolutely can’t stand nut butters and I tend to avoid using dates because they get a little pricy if you’re using them all the time. Anyways, because I haven’t been able to find a perfect recipe that suits me and my taste buds out there, I decided to come up with one on my own and to my surprise they turned out absolutely delightful!
Healthy granola bar recipe
Ingredients (makes 12):
2 cups oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey or agave
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried coconut flakes or shredded coconut
1/3 cup dried mangoes chopped
1/3 cup dried papaya chopped
1/4 cup dried pineapple chopped
1/2 cup melted coconut oil or butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Bake bake bake!
1. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, dried coconut, brown sugar, salt, dried mango, dried papaya and dried pineapple. Stir in the melted coconut oil, honey, chocolate chips and vanilla extract.
2. Press the granola mixture into the prepared pan and bake at 350F for 20 – 30 minutes until golden brown.
3. Let the bars cool for at least 3 hours before cutting them into bars.
4. Munch!
