Homemade granola bar recipe with oats, dates and peanut butter, without refined sugar
Packaged protein and granola bars are expensive and often contain added sugar and preservatives. A homemade version takes about half an hour, keeps well in the fridge and works as a quick snack for children and adults alike.
What the video shows
This VoxyTalksy video was published on June 27, 2021, as the second episode of the channel's food series during the Covid-19 second wave. Host Harshvardhan welcomes Dr Sanchita Bansal, who teaches at a university in Delhi (Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, according to the video description) and runs her own recipe channel. They briefly discuss exams and the lockdown before she explains why she prefers to make granola bars at home: shop-bought bars are costly and contain preservatives, and she replaces white sugar with natural sweeteners such as dates, jaggery powder or desi khand. She then demonstrates the recipe step by step and cuts the set bars into neat pieces.
Ingredients (as shown in the video)
- 1 bowl instant oats
- 1 bowl puffed rice (murmura)
- 1 bowl chopped nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds
- Half a bowl of flax seeds
- Cinnamon powder and a little nutmeg powder
- Dates, soaked in water and ground to a paste
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- Honey to taste, and some dried fruit
Method
- Dry-roast the oats, puffed rice, nuts and seeds separately on low heat until crisp and fragrant.
- Mix them in a large bowl with the cinnamon and nutmeg powder.
- In a non-stick pan, warm the date paste with the peanut butter, then add honey. Stir until it turns glossy and sticky.
- Add the dry mixture and dried fruit to the pan and mix quickly so everything is coated.
- Line a tray with butter paper, transfer the mixture and press it down very firmly with a bowl or your hands; if it is not pressed well, it will not set.
- Refrigerate for about 20 to 30 minutes, then cut into bars with a sharp knife.
Tips and cautions
- "No refined sugar" is not the same as "no sugar": dates and honey are still sugars, so people with diabetes should check with their doctor about portion size.
- Use nutmeg sparingly; a pinch is enough for flavour.
- Children under one year should not be given honey.
- Anyone with a nut or peanut allergy can replace the nuts with roasted seeds and use a seed butter instead of peanut butter.
- Store the bars in an airtight box in the fridge and finish them within about a week.
The bars are a useful replacement for biscuits or fried snacks, but they are calorie-dense, so one bar is a sensible serving.
