Peanut Butter Granola Bars

January 7, 2012 in lifestyle, recipes

peanut butter granola bars lying on a blue plastic tupperware lid in a pile

As anyone who follows my Instagram or Twitter will probably have noticed, 2013 for me has, so far, been a complete and utter health kick. I’ve seriously cleaned up my ‘diet’ (I do hate that word…), and have been attempting to ‘eat clean’ for at least 80% of my time, and so far, it’s going pretty well.
The only downside? Well, being a student, I’m not exactly made of money – and whilst I am starting to fall in love with both the ginger bread and banana bread varieties of Nakd bars (after a slightly rocky start – I really don’t recommend any of the ‘chocolate’ flavours…), they’re far from cheap to keep on hand as a regular snack, and I started brainstorming one or two clean, homemade snack ideas of my own to fill the void.

peanut butter granola bars having just been cut, still in their disposable baking tray

These peanut butter granola bars, recipe below, work out at around 18p each if you use the brands I suggest (cheaper if you don’t mind them not being 100% ‘clean’), and make the perfect accompaniment to your mid-morning cup of coffee (or tea, if you’re going one better than me and cutting back on caffeine!) – satisfying, slightly sweet, and guilt-free, with only 148 calories, 14g carbs, 8g fat (the good kind!) and 5g of protein per bar*.

I use Waitrose’s ‘Essential’ wholenut peanut butter for this recipe, as a lot of regular supermarket varieties tend to use sugar/flavourings/preservatives, and I prefer this ‘nuttier’ tasting one. It’s nowhere near as sweet as conventional peanut butter, so I’d recommend trying some on its own before using it! I also recommend Flahavan’s Irish porridge oats, which are 100% wholegrain, and Waitrose pure clear squeezy honey for this recipe, but obviously, you can use anything you’ve already got, or prefer.

peanut butter granola bars in a white plastic tupperware bowl, ready to be stored

They’re delicious, satisfying, and a much healthier option than most store-bought granola/snack bars, and so so simple to whip up. Personally, I store them for about two weeks in an air tight container, and throw one into a food bag if I know I’m going to be out for the day – yum!

Peanut Butter Granola Bars Recipe:

Low-Calorie Peanut Butter Granola Bars.

Course Snack

Cuisine Low-Calorie

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 16 Bars

Calories 148 kcal

Ingredients

80 g oats
169 g honey
258 g peanut butter
1 tbsp Truvia (or whichever no-calorie sweetener you prefer)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 170°.
Spread the oats evenly onto a large baking tray, and place in the oven to toast for 10 minutes. Whilst they’re toasting, measure out the peanut butter and honey into a bowl.
As soon as the oats are toasted, pour them (whilst hot!) into the bowl with the peanut butter and honey. The heat will help the ingredients loosen up a little, making it easier to combine them. Add the Truvia and cinnamon.
When the ingredients are combined, spoon the mixture into a brownie tin (I use these disposable ones for convenience), and spread it out evenly.
Bake the mixture for about 12-15 minutes, or until it’s just starting to brown – they might appear to be a little soft in the middle, but they’ll harden as they cool.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then cut them into 16 bars, before leaving to cool completely. They can be stored for around 2 weeks in an airtight container.