Chocolate Nut Squares (like a granola bar)

Snacking is fun and even better when it’s satisfying and guilt free!

  • BEFORE
  • AFTER

I don’t know about your house but we’ve been doing our part and staying home and it seems like part of that process is constant snacking! I usually buy granola bars to stick in my kids lunches for school but now that I’m not packing a lunch and our routine varies from day to day the granola bars were constantly being asked for and it was a battle I just wasn’t willing to fight. My philosophy is that if you don’t want your kids to eat it then don’t buy it at the grocery store. If you buy it then brace yourself for the ensuring battles of “can we have it?”, “can we just have one?”, “can we have it after we eat?”, “but you said yes yesterday so why can’t we have it today?” Maybe this is just me but I like saying “YES go ahead and snack away kids!”

…but I have to feel good about what they’ve put into their little bodies throughout the day.

As many of you parents know, the snack has to be delicious enough for them to ask for it, want to eat it, and consume it happily.

These snack bars are so easy, sweet and convenient there really is no reason not to make them. I’m going to throw in economical too! There are many of us during these uncertain times keeping track of our pennies and when it comes to pre-packaged snacks “healthy” and “cheap” are never in the same sentence.

Method:

  • take the bag of nut & dried fruit mix and dump it into your food processor.
  • if your kids are like mine and prefer to eat everything with chocolate then add some non-dairy chocolate chips
  • blend the mixture until it’s crumbly
  • add 2-3 tbsp of maple syrup
  • blend again to mix in the maple syrup
  • press the mixture into a pan (use a silicon sheet or grease the pan with a little coconut oil first) – the size of pan you use will depend on how thin you would like the squares to be
  • place the pan into the freezer for about 30 mins, cut into squares and let the snacking begin

We chose to keep the pan in the freezer and eat them straight out of there, it doesn’t actually freeze it just keeps them firm and chilled. I pre-cut all the squares and just let the kids go for it whenever the snack attack hits 🙂

This recipe is full of iron, healthy fats and fibre. The sugars are natural and are in whole food form. This is a great granola bar alternative because you don’t have the waste, you don’t have the processed sugars, it’s free from preservatives and the kids can even help to make it!

Enjoy – Stay Safe

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