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Iâm sharing todayâs recipe in collaboration with Nature Valley⢠and Safeway. Nature Valley sells delicious nut-filled snack bars that are clean-eating friendly, and they give these homemade granola bars their nutty crunch!
In high school, I ate so many granola bars that I nearly single-handedly forced the local grocery stores to restock their snack shelves multiple times each week. Okay, maybe thatâs a slight exaggeration⌠But I did pile almost every box of my favorite flavors on display into the grocery cart whenever we stopped on that aisle! Â
Our school scheduled a short 10-minute snack break at the start of 3rd period classes, and I always pulled out my first granola bar of the day then. I typically chose something soft and chewy, usually with chocolate chips or chunks (yes, I was a chocoholic even back then⌠itâs why I wrote my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!), and I slowly nibbled on it while my classmates crunched on pretzels or potato chips.
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For lunch, I packed a granola bar instead of desserts like cookies or cupcakes to finish off my meal. For that second snack, I gravitated towards crunchier varieties, the complete opposite of my mid-morning choice, like Nature Valley⢠Oats ân Honey. I broke off tiny pieces, trying to make the sweet flavors of the snack last as long as I could!
When I arrived home from school, I headed straight for the pantry for a third granola bar. By the afternoon, I started craving something soft again, although fruit-filled instead, and after ripping open the wrapper, I bit off tiny pieces while I cracked open my math textbook and started on my homework.
Yes, I devoured at least three granola bars every day⌠What can I say? I love to snack!
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When I recently stopped by the grocery store to pick up more oatmeal for baking cookies, I passed by the snack bars located on the same aisle. Since that brought back memories (and snack cravings!) from high school, I decided to hold off on the cookies and made these Healthy Banana Nut Granola Bar Bites instead. Theyâre soft and chewy with the same flavors as the ever-popular banana nut muffin, and theyâre much healthier than the snacks of my childhoodâand really easy to make!
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The base of these granola bars consists of two main ingredients: old-fashioned oats and brown rice cereal. I know, I know⌠Youâre probably looking rather quizzically at your screen and wondering why in the world would Amy put rice cereal in granola bars! It actually adds a nice texture and helps hold the bars together for a fraction of the calories of extra oil. If you canât find brown rice cereal, regular olâ rice cereal will work just fine!
For the fruity flavor, youâll mix in mashed banana. Try to use the darkest, ripest, spottiest banana you can find! Those bananas will have the most intense fruity flavor, and because theyâll also be sweeter, youâll only need to add a tablespoon of honey to the bowl. And for a little protein boost, youâll mix in some Greek yogurt, too!
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Itâs impossible to have banana ânutâ granola bar bites without the nuts! To make the decision much easier (I couldnât pick just one type of nut!), I diced one of Nature Valleyâs Roasted Peanut & Honey Simple Nut Bars that I found at Safeway to add to the bowl. With just 7 ingredients, all of which are clean-eating friendly (thatâs so hard to find in store-bought snacks these days!), I love keeping a box of these nut bars in the pantry for quick snacks. And because they contain peanuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds, they make it really easy to add a variety of nut flavors to our homemade granola bars without hunting down those individual ingredients at the grocery store. Win-win!
Now simply press the mixture into your pan, pop it in the oven, slice into squares, andâŚ
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Time for a snack!
Psst⌠If youâre a snackaholic like me, I highly recommend trying Nature Valleyâs other flavor of their Simple Nut Bars too, Almond Cashew & Sea Salt! I found both varieties at my local Safeway, and theyâre perfect for quick grab-and-go clean eating snacks. Be snacksationalâand stay healthy at the same time!
| Healthy Banana Nut Granola Bar Bites | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (45g) crisp brown rice cereal
- 1 cup (100g) old-fashioned oats (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 tsp coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup (130g) mashed banana (about 1 large)
- Âź cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp (15mL) honey
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 (33g) Nature Valley Roasted Peanut & Honey Simple Nut Bar, finely diced
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat an 8â-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the rice cereal and oats. In a separate bowl, stir together the coconut oil and mashed banana. Add in the Greek yogurt, honey, and salt, mixing until thoroughly combined. Stir in the cereal mixture. Gently fold in the chopped Simple Nut Bar.
- Gently press the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 300°F for 14-17 minutes or until light golden and the center feels firm to the touch. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing into squares.
Melted unsalted butter, or any oil, may be substituted for the coconut oil.
Try to use the ripest, spottiest banana that you can find! If yours is more yellow than brown, you may want to add more honey to taste.
Maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
This post was sponsored by General Mills and Safeway. As always, all text, photographs, recipe, and opinions are my own.
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how long do these keep in the fridge?
We appreciate your interest in this recipe, Rebecca! We’ve actually shared the answer to your exact question right below the title of the recipe before you get to the ingredient list in the recipe box. I know it can be easy to miss! đ I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to make some of these granola bar bites! đ