Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Coconut Raspberry Walnut Power Bars


I ate my share of pre-packaged granola bars growing up as many of us did. Now I never eat them as I always find them way too sweet. I've made homemade granola bars a few times and they've been okay, but again they're usually too sweet for me. So why did I make these? I have a big bag of crisp brown rice cereal and need to do something with it! And the wonderful thing? I actually liked these granola bars. A lot. They are really sweet, but there's something about maybe the coconut or the rice crisps that just makes them so much better than any other granola bar I've tried.

My bike riding to work is going excellently! I've had some issues with my knee so I'm trying to take things slowly and just do 1 or 2 days a week right now, though I wish I could bike everyday. It was awesome to hear how many of you are out biking around too!

PS - This is my 400th post! Yikes.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Granola Bars
Sunny Jungle Bars
Morning Glory Muffins
Caramel Walnut Chocolate Chunk Granola

Coconut Raspberry Walnut Power Bars
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking

Feel free to change in whatever nuts or dried fruits you want, though I prefer to stick with 1 type of nut and 1 type of dried fruit so the flavours don't get jumbled.

1 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 cup oat bran
1 1/2 cups unsweetened crisp brown rice cereal
1 cup dried raspberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt

Line or grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.

Mix the oats, walnuts, oat bran, cereal, raspberries, and coconut in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the rice syrup, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 4 minutes. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until the syrup is evenly incorporated.

Spread into the prepared pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into bars.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hope your knee feels better soon!

These bars look amazing...chewy and rich. I love that it's got coconut!!!

Sarah S. said...

Congrats on 400 posts, most awesome!

I had in mind to try this recipe when I saw it in Super Natural Cooking, but then I forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me!

PS. Where are those wedding pics, girl? We want to see :)

janet @ the taste space said...

Glad to hear about your biking success! Snacks like these are great for bringing with you on long cycling trips - they pack well, taste great and give you lots of carbs to keep on going! :)

Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous) said...

yummy! These look really good. I don't normally eat granola bars but I just might have to give these a try.

Joanne said...

I haven't had a granola bar in FOREVER for exactly that reason! But these look they are really chock full of power ingredients!

jodye @ 'scend food said...

These bars sound like a wonderful treat. I'm eating berries like they're going extinct lately, so this is right up my alley

Anonymous said...

I love homemade granola bars. They are so much better than store-bought ones. Those sound fabulous. I don't think I've ever had a granola bar with dried raspberries before.

Ricki said...

CONGRATS on post number 400! What a great accomplishment. And those bars. . .mmmm! I also ate granola bars growing up, but I always liked homemade ones better. I bet the raspberries in there are really fabulous. :)

Adam said...

I agree completely on the average granola bar being too sweet. I haven't gotten around to making my own yet, but they're definitely on the long list of things I need to make :). These look fantastic, I'd probably add some peanut butter because I pretty much add it to everything :).
And congrats on post 400. I'm working on 70 right now :).

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your 400th post!! Wow!!!
The biking is very cool. Glad your enjoying it.

Anonymous said...

i'm not a big granola eating but this do look good so i might give them a try. though when i have looked in the past i haven't been able to find the brown rice puffed ceral. where do you get yours? and is there a brand you like?

hope the knee feels better soon and congrats on the 400th post.

Johanna GGG said...

congratulations on 400 posts and still going strong

those bars look excellent - I don't tend to use rice bubbles or rice crisps in my muesli bars but I like the idea - esp with walnuts coconut and rasbperries - and would be a good snack for you after rides

glad to hear the bike riding is going well - I have had sore knees riding and found the seat was the wrong height so now I am quite fussy about the height of my seat

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: I get mine from Save-On-Foods (big grocery store in Canada) and the brand is Nature's Path (Canadian company). Good luck finding it! :) Try Whole Foods?

kimberleyblue said...

400 posts?!? Good for you, and congrats! My blog was born at the beginning of 2008 and I still have under 200 posts.

I know what you're saying about granola bars. I've tried to make them so many times, and each time, they're just not what I'm looking for. I've gotta try these.

kickpleat said...

These look so good! And hooray for your 400th post and for biking! Take care of your knees and make sure that your seat is at the right height - it could just need a bit of a tweak and then you might be fine!

grace said...

i hate that you have trouble with your knee--that's one of the worst and most frustrating injuries there can be for an athlete, this i know. great power bars, though--these'd be 100 times better than most of that gunk from the store. :)

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Congrats on 400 posts!! Sorry to hear about your knee. This recipe looks delicious though. Love homemade recipes for packaged snack bars. Cheaper and saves on packaging :).

Elizabeth said...

These look great. I love granola bars but rarely eat them.

Hope your knee feels better soon.