Mint Chocolate Granola Bars

I have been on a baking kick lately.  Baking is honestly not my thing as you need to follow a recipe and if you don’t your baking will probably not turn out great.  I’m more of a chef.  I like to randomly add whatever I have in the house and go based on my taste and voila … dinner is served! This is why I like making energy balls or granola bars! You can really add whatever you want in them and just like that, you have a healthy snack option in your house!

If I were to have a treat … my favourite would have to be something that is chocolate mint. I’m not a chocolate fan at all, but when it’s combined with mint … yummy! So I decided to make my own chocolate mint granola bars to have while I’m on the go or as my 3pm snack when I’m craving something sweet to eat!  To remind you … I’m not a baker, so I went based on feel and texture of the granola bar and the ingredients I used … so you’ll need to do the same when you make them!

ALSO …. these granola bars are KID APPROVED by a 6 year old and 4 year old twins!

 

CHOCOLATE MINT GRANOLA BARS

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup walnuts (could use cashews, pecans or almonds)

3/4 cup oats

1/2 cup hemp hearts

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 scoop protein powder (I use Garden of Life)

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup nut butter (or seed butter)

1/4 cup maple syrup (add more if you like to have the bars sweeter)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 drops of peppermint extract

1- 2 tsp of water (if you feel the granola needs to stick together more)

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Grind up your walnuts into tiny pieces.  I used my food processor, but you can use your magic bullet.
2. Grind up your oats so it looks like flour.
3.  In a pot, melt your coconut oil in low heat.  Add the nut or seed butter.  Add the maple syrup. Add the vanilla extract and peppermint extract.  Set aside to cool a little.
4. Combine all of the dry ingredients.
5. Add the wet ingredients in the pot to the dry ingredients.
6. If the dough in too dry, add a tsp of water at a time until desired consistency.
7. Line a 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper.
8. Add the mixture to the pan and press it down firm with your hands.  The mixture won’t stick to your hands if they are a bit wet.
9. Freeze the granola bars for about 45 minutes.  Take them out of pan and cut them into little squares.
10. Freeze the squares and take out one at a time when you are ready for a healthy snack

ENJOY!