Six years ago, Dad and I planned an epic baseball trip. I poured over the official MLB schedules in March and eventually pinpointed a week where multiple Midwestern teams all played at home. We saw 5 games in 7 days—including Tom Glavine’s historic 300th win at Wrigley Field!—and only drove across 4 states in the process.
With that many miles of farmland crops and counting cows, we heavily relied on gas stations for snacks to get us through the trip. While Dad seemed satisfied with a bag of peanuts or some sunflower seeds, I craved fresh fruit and lean protein. Since AMPM’s and ARCOs rarely stocked those, I wandered around for a bit before grabbing granola bars instead.
My limited options included Nature Valley, Nutri-Grain, and Clif bars, with only a few flavors of each. (Think honey, strawberry, and chocolate chip.) Despite a slightly higher sugar content than I normally like, they were still somewhat healthier than the salami and hot dogs at the check-out counter!
Since our current trip spans 3 cities and 2 days of driving, I planned ahead (just like for breakfast!) and baked my own snack bars. I made them soft and thick like some of my favorite cookies, with a subtle sweetness from honey and a slightly nuttiness from whole wheat and peanut flours. They’re completely clean-eating friendly, and if Dad’s excited expression is any indication, we won’t have to stop at a single gas station this week for snacks!
Just like cookies can be crunchy or soft, so can oat bars! These healthy, feel-good bars are meant to be eaten for breakfast or a snack, and they’ll keep for up to a week if stored in an air-tight container.
- Combine the raisins and water in a microwave-safe bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 45 seconds. Let the raisins sit for at least 30 minutes to continue soaking up the liquid.
- Preheat the oven to 300°, and lightly coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add the raisins and remaining water to a food processor or blender, and pulse until fairly smooth. (There may be a few larger chunks remaining; that’s okay!)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats and next 5 ingredients (through salt). In a separate bowl, whisk together the puréed raisins, agave, honey, creamy peanut butter, and egg white. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet in 3 parts, stirring just until incorporated. Press the dough into the prepared pan, and bake at 300° for 17-20 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn golden. Cool in the pan to room temperature before slicing into 10 bars.
Notes: It’s better to use quick-cooking oats, but you can make your own from old-fashioned oats! Add the old-fashioned oats to a food processor, and pulse 8-12 times or until coarsely ground.
For a vegan version, substitute your favorite liquid sweetener for the honey (the thicker, the better!) and ½ tablespoon Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for the egg white.
The tapioca flour (or tapioca starch—they’re the same thing!) helps keep the bars soft. You can substitute 1 tablespoon of cornstarch for the 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour, if you prefer.
I’m so glad you addressed the Nut situation. Even though its horrible to see Children with this some of them never grow out of it and at 30yrs old having easy healthy snacks for travel or working out is still just as difficult. The only difference being an adult we just force ourselves to eat the things we least like. These are a great alternative never found anything so soft to bake before.
Thanks! I’d love to hear what you think if you try these! 🙂