As wedding photographers we often find ourselves working easily 8 up to 16 hour days at a time. Anyone who’s shot a wedding can testify that the physical and mental demands required to do this well wreaks havoc on the body resulting in something we call “post-wedding hangover”, and (unfortunately for most) has nothing to do with alcohol. So what are the things we do to get ourselves through the day? Well, one of the most recent things I’ve been doing is making high-protein granola bars. I love these little homemade gems because not only are they are supercharged with natural, healthy energy, they are easy to pack and clean to eat. Those who’ve had the pleasure of sharing a meal with me knows I’m notorious for leaving a portion of my plate on my shirt. I instagrammed/facebooked a quick photo this weekend and got a number of requests for the recipe, so here we go!
Just a note on the quinoa. I measure 3/4 cup of uncooked quinoa, blend them up for 40 seconds in my Vitamix grain canister to make 1 cup of quinoa flour. If you have quinoa flakes that will works just as well.
NATURAL HIGH-PROTEIN GRANOLA BARS RECIPE:
(adapted from this recipe HERE)
Ingredients:
Yields 16 bars
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup quinoa flour or quinoa flakes
- 1/2 cup seeds (sunflower, almonds, pumpkin, etc)
- 1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, coconut, etc)
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- sprinkle of kosher salt
- optional: 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (but hey, it’s chocolate so is that really an option? No.)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a 9×9 inch square baking pan with enough parchment paper so extra hangs off the edges. Lightly oil paper and sides of the pan.
3. In a large bowl mix dry ingredients together: oats, quinoa flour/flakes, seeds, dried fruit, coconut sugar and salt.
4. In a smaller bowl whisk together wet ingredients: melted coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla.
5. Pour the liquids into the oats mixture and combine until ingredients are wet and sticky. If it’s too dry add maple syrup a tiny bit at a time until it starts to clump together.
6. Press mixture firmly into pan.
7. Bake for 20 minutes until edges are golden brown and the grains smell toasted. Cool, and cut into squares.
Enjoy!
