No Bake Granola Bars

We are a family that resolutely believes, breakfast is the most important meal of the day…so whether its Indian, Continental or English…dosas, muffins or sunny side up eggs with hash browns there will always be a warm sizzling sound coming from the kitchen on most mornings. There are times when even a cold brekkie of porridge will be chugged down if there is no option. We do believe that as a meal it does set you up for the day & keeps you energized enough for the kind of stress that’s an inevitable part of all our lives today. So here is one more option that you can add to your breakfast repertoire which doesn't really require much cooking & can be stored quite well for those emergency morning, when you barely have time to grab something on your way out.

Ingredients:

• ·         1 & 1/2 cup rolled oats

• ·         1/4 cup sesame seeds

• ·         1/2 cup almonds or cashew nuts (depending on availability)

• ·         1 cup diced dates

• ·         1/3 cup choco chips

• ·         1/3 cup dried sour cherries

• ·         1/2 cup roasted peanuts

• ·         1/4 cup peanut butter

• ·         1/4 cup honey

• ·         Pinch of salt

Method

Roast oats & sesame seeds for 10 minutes till slightly browned. Toast almonds & add to oats. Add dates, choco chips, cherries & peanuts slightly crushed. Heat peanut butter, honey & salt in a small pan stirring all the while until warm. Pour this over oats & stir using your hands or a spatula . Transfer to pan, pat it down so the top is flat. Freeze for 30 minutes to one hour. Remove & cut into bars. Store in fridge. The bars keep for upto 3 weeks.

Mommy’s Tip: We had only 1 tbsp. honey so added golden syrup to make up for the remaining consistency. Almonds were substituted for cashew nuts & it tasted just fine.