No Bake Granola Bars

Chewy and not too sweet, these are perfect for lunchboxes...

I was in the supermarket the other day and had granola bars on my list. Five minutes later, I knew that I'd be making my own. Checking labels and finding non Vegan ingredients in almost every packet is very tedious, and bars that are specifically Vegan in the health food section are so expensive. The beauty of making your own is you can add whatever takes your fancy. So for these, I used the following:-

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup flaked almonds
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
6 tbsp peanut butter or nut butter of your choice
5 tbsp maple or golden syrup
100g dark chocolate

Line a 9" square tin with baking paper.

Put everything except the chocolate into a large bowl and combine. I just got in there with my clean hands - so much easier. Melt half the chocolate and pour that into the mixture and mix together. Tip the mixture into your lined tin and press down well until smooth and compact. Pop it into the fridge for a good couple or so hours and then remove from the tin and cut into bars (I got 10 out of it). Place the bars onto a sheet of baking paper. Melt the remaining chocolate and drizzle over the bars. Once the chocolate has set, wrap the bars individually in baking paper or ziplock bags and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

As long as you stick to basically the same quantities - you can vary these as you like. Below is the recipe for Chocolate, Cranberry and Pistachio bars.

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup pistachios
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup almonds roughly chopped
2 tbsp chia seeds
6 tbsp peanut or other nut butter
5 tbsp agave. maple or golden syrup
100g dark chocolate