This was one of my first major endeavours to change a recipe. The recipe this is based off of, was an oat based granola bar that was very simple. At the time, I was so sick of having oats as a gluten free option, I wanted to do something a little different. As I started to work on this recipe, I wondered what else I could add to help make it more complete nutritionally, and what extra nutrition I could get into my husband.
The main part of the recipe is the simplest version of it. Then, if you have the ingredients, or desire to make it more complex, there are a few variations you could add to either make it different each batch, or just use what you have in your kitchen.
The first variation has to do with texture. Tony much prefers to have a little crunch in his bars, so that’s where you can add in the kasha – also known as toasted buckwheat groats. To do this, you simply reduce the puffed rice and millet and replace with the kasha, as listed below.
· 1 cup puffed rice
· 1 cup puffed millet
· 1 cup kasha (toasted buckwheat groats)
The second variation helps to add a little more protein to your bars. This one, you will replace half of the called for ground flaxseed with hemp hearts. If you want higher protein, just do a full replacement of hemp hearts for flaxseed. Hemp seeds are a great source of extra protein, Omega-3 (same as flax) and they are a great source of magnesium.
· 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
· 1/4 cup hemp hearts
Not everyone will want chocolate chips in their bars, so you could add fresh or dried fruit pieces to replace the chocolate chips. Dice your fresh fruit, or cut dried fruit into smaller pieces, and add to the dry mixture. You can use about ½ cup.
If you are going to use butter instead of avocado oil, make sure the butter is softened and your eggs and apple sauce are room temperature. This will help you get a more even mixture of your wet and dry ingredients.
Another way to change up the flavour is to substitute the apple sauce for another purred fruit. Some favourites that I’ve tried are: berries, banana and kiwi. You can either whip this up in a blender or food processor, but if you have an emersion blender, I find that works really well with making less of a mess.
Need to make these egg free? Turn the ground flaxseed into your egg replacer. Use at least a ¼ cup of flaxseed (if you want to use hemp hearts), and then add a half cup of water to your wet ingredients instead of the eggs. The water and oil won’t completely mix together with your dry ingredients, but they will all mix well when everything is combined. The added water will help the flaxseed create a flax egg.
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