Recipe: Super seedy cranberry cashew bars

A healthy snack perfect for on-the-go, packed in lunches, or enjoyed on the trails.

✓ This recipe has been approved by a Sunnybrook dietitian.

Ingredients

• 2 cups crispy rice cereal (gluten free if necessary)
• 1 cup instant oats (I used Love Grown Foods Super Oats which are gluten-free)
• 1 cup flaked almonds
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup hemp seeds
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup cashews
• ¼ cup sesame seeds
• 5 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ cup raw honey (or swap with maple syrup if vegan)
• ½ cup nut butter of choice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a very large bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients (crispy rice cereal through cinnamon).
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining ingredients together, stirring constantly to prevent burning. This should take about 3 minutes and the liquid should be smooth and thick when ready.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl and stir to coat as much of the oat/cereal mixture as possible.
• Pour the entire contents of the bowl onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and use a spatula and/or rolling pin to flatten it out into a flat, even layer.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool a bit (but not completely, or they will crumble) before slicing into squares or bars.
• Store in the fridge, or freeze leftovers if you won’t be eating all of the bars within the next 10 days.