No-bake Gluten-free Energy Bars

Today is a right dab smack in the middle of the work week. I’m sure a lot of us are starting to feel the exhaustion from the previous days, especially if your job is pretty arduous.

Keep that energy high and your creative juices flowing with these homemade no-bake gluten-free energy bars! These are actually better than commercial and store-bought energy bars because you actually know what ingredients are in them.

Commercial energy bars could contain preservatives and other chemicals to prolong the shelf life of the products. Although they’re generally safe, organic and gluten-free products are still the better option.

These energy bars are also no-bake, so you don’t have to crank up the oven to make these babies. Hence, they are easy to make, easy to grab, and easy to eat for those days when you need an extra energy boost.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup organic peanut butter
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 1/2 cups roasted raw nuts seeds (almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds- according to your preference)
• 1 cup organic dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, dates, blueberries, apricots, mangoes, pineapple, raisins- according to your preference)
• 4 cups gluten-free rice crispies cereal
• 1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. First, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Next, place nuts and roasted seeds and dried fruits in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, just until the mixture is chunky.
3. Afterwards, in a large, saucepan melt peanut butter with honey over medium-low heat. Stir and watch carefully to prevent burning. When the mixture is smooth and bubbling cook for about a minute. Remove from heat.
4. Then, add salt and vanilla and stir to combine. Use a large spatula to fold in nuts, dried fruit and cereal. Stir until all ingredients are coated with the peanut butter mixture.
5. Pour mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Use the spatula to evenly spread the mixture on the pan. Place a large piece of waxed paper over the mixture and use a rolling pin to smooth the top of the mixture. Cover with the waxed paper and refrigerate for about 2 hours before cutting the energy bars.
6. Lastly, wrap bars in waxed paper and store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Grab a couple of these to take with you to work or school for that midday boost!