I saw a Tweet the other day that said something about how Food Bloggers need to stop telling their life stories before they get to the actual recipe, so I figured I would try that “method” of blogging for this post!
I made an unreal amount of content today. I mean seriously… I don’t know what was in my coffee this morning. Last night I went through my Pinterest and Instagram feeds gathering some inspiration for this week and then used those to set up my grocery order for this morning. I think that was the most financially-friendly way to do both personal and Instagram cooking/baking. I looked at my pantry first to see what ingredients I already had and then only purchased what I was missing. I tried to overlap ingredients, too!
I know I said I wasn’t going to tell my entire life story on this recipe, but let’s at least chat about it LOL. The inspiration for these Homemade Kind Bars came about when I realized just how expensive protein/granola bars are. Ever since I moved out on my own, I haven’t really been buying bars. It’s a combination of paying for my own groceries & the fact that I am not as “on the go” as I normally am, thanks to COVID and the lovely quarantine we are having at the moment. I honestly haven’t eaten a protein bar in a hot minute, and I really miss them!
Anyways, I was on the phone last night with a friend and he told me that I should make my own protein bars and sell them. I was like “Yeah okay” but after doing some research, I discovered I literally had all of the ingredients to make copycat Kind Bars! Am I going to sell them? No lol. But I will 100% eat them and share with friends!
That’s enough for the talking part of this post, now let’s get to the recipe so you guys can make your own Kind Bars!
Ingredients
- ½ cup creamy natural drippy peanut butter (just peanuts & salt)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons honey (or use coconut palm syrup or maple syrup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ cup flaxseed meal
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats, gluten free if desired
- 1/3 cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped* (or sub chopped pecans)
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- For on top:
- 2 tablespoons almond slices or chopped almonds
- 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil
- Coconut Flakes
Instructions
- Add peanut butter, coconut oil, honey, vanilla and cinnamon to a medium saucepan and place over low heat. Stir every so often until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Remove from heat and immediately stir in flaxseed meal, chia and oats. Fold in almonds and shredded coconut and stir until combined.
- Line an 8×4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper; pour granola bar mixture in and spread out evenly, then press down in the pan very firmly. Press remaining roasted almonds on top.
- Place dark chocolate chips and ½ teaspoon coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between until chocolate is completely smooth and melted. Drizzle diagonally over bars.
- Cover the bars with foil, and place bars in the freezer for 15-20 minutes or in the fridge for 30 minutes-1 hour or until mixture has hardened. Remove bars from pan and cut into 8 granola bars anyway you’d like. Store bars in the fridge, either individually wrapped in plastic or in foil. Bars will last up to 1 week in the fridge.
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