Quinoa Granola Bars

Is it really already July 21st?  We're one month into summer folks!  How does it feel?

Personally, it's going a bit fast for my liking, but at least it feels like the summer.  I don't know about where you live, but the temperature has be absolutely soaring here. Thank god for cool drinks (link that), pools, and air conditioning.

The 21st of the month means one thing around here: the Recipe ReDux.  This months theme?  Travel snacks.  Foods that you're sure to have on hand whenever you go away.  Ideally, they travel well, can pass through airport security, and won't go bad after hours in a car.  All that is easier said than done, but I came up with a winner recipe this month, I can promise you that.

Whenever I go away the one thing I'm sure to bring is a protein bar.  I wish I could say I'm cool enough to make my own, but that really isn't the case.  I just pick up some packaged bars from the store and throw them in my bag.  I like that they're easy to pack, have enough substance to satisfy me, and also taste pretty yummy.  Basically, I wanted to incorporate all that into a homemade travel snack.

With the result being these Quinoa Granola Bars, my mission was accomplished.

Lets go over my three goals.

1.  A snack that's easy to pack.

I knew instantly that I wanted to make a bar.  You can throw them into a plastic bag, wrap them up in aluminum foil, or do whatever else to package them before simply throwing them wherever.  Bars typically don't need a specific temperature and they done require a ton if space either.  As far as these homemade granola bars go, they're a bit fragile, but you can treat them however you would treat another granola bar in terms of packing for a trip.

2.  A snack that keeps you satisfied

More protein bars use protein powder to pack in some punch.  I don't have protein powder, and have no desire to buy s big jar just to make some granola bars.  I thought hard for a replacement and finally came up with using quinoa.  It adds a bit of protein and also some fiber to keep you full.  I ended up using cooked quinoa in the final granol pa bar recipe.  It sounds a bit strange, but it works like a charm.

3. A snack that tastes awesome

Of course these bars taste great.  They're flavored simply with cinnamon and a nut butter of you choice. I used peanut butter and it worked great.  The simplicity of the bar leaves plenty of room for you to customize it for your liking.  Add chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit.  It will all be awesome, I promise.

Quinoa Granola Bars

• 1 cup quick oats (make your own quick oats by quickly blending rolled oats until they break down a bit)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa (see package for cooking instructions)
• 1/4 cup oat flour (grind oats in a coffee grinder until they reach a flour-like consistency)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup nut butter of choice (I used peanut butter)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• optional: add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, quinoa, oat flour, and cinnamon.  Add honey, applesauce, nut butter, and vanilla.  Mix until a sticky mixture forms.  If you want to use any add-ins, throw in a handful now, and mix them in.  Press mixture into prepared pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Once cooled, cut into 8 bars.  Store in an airtight container.  For traveling, put bars in a blastic bag or wrap in aluminum foil.

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Chocolate Quinoa Fudge Bars