Quinoa Granola Bars

I was so excited when I had the opportunity to try out NatureBox!

If you’ve never heard of them, they deliver carefully sourced nutritionist-approved foods right to your door. Their snack contain wholesome ingredients – no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors. You actually get to go in and select which snacks you want to receive and filter by your preferences. I absolutely loved that I could pick gluten-free friendly AND non-GMO snacks. I had so much fun going through their online catalog. You can check it out here.

When you join NatureBox, you will receive five different snack every month. If you don’t want to pick the snacks out, you can let them surprise you.

While these snacks are perfect for back to school, I will have to say that they are AMAZING for family travel. My NatureBox arrived the night before we took off for a cross country trip. I had done some planning ahead, but realized too late that I was going to be short on snacks because with Skye it takes an extra day. NatureBox was a lifesaver!

Not only that – I can honestly say I adored every single thing I tried. I made you guys some granola bars with the Pumpkin Praline Seeds, but it was an act of self restraint to save them for a recipe! They are amazing as it, but take these granola bars over the top. I’m quite certain that they are my favorite granola bars ever!

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Quinoa Granola Bars & NatureBox Review (Gluten Free, Vegan)

Adapted from the How Can it Be Gluten Free Cookbook

Author Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup packed muscovado sugar or light brown
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
• 1 cup quinoa flakes
• 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup pecans chopped
• 1/2 cup praline pumpkin seeds OR regular
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

1. Place oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 inch pan with aluminum foil, allowing the foil to hang over the edges of the pan. Take a second piece of foil and lay it perpendicular to the first one, allowing the foil to hang over the pan. Smooth foil flush to the pan and spray.
2. In a bowl, combine maple syrup, sugar and sea salt. Whisk in coconut oil.
3. In a food processor, process 1/2 cup of the quinoa flakes until finely ground, about 45 seconds. Transfer to the bowl with the maple syrup and add in remaining quinoa flakes, oats, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and coconut.
4. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and spread in an even layer. Spray a large metal spatula with oil and compress the mixture. Bake for 25 minutes and then rotate the pan. Bake for an additional 20 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Let bars cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then cut into 16 bars. (While still in the pan.) Let cool for 1 hour and using foil overhang, life bars from a pan onto a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to re-cut bars following original cuts.

Recipe Notes

Servings 16, Calories 195, Fat 12.8g, Carbohydrates 18.1g, Protein 3.7g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 120mg, Potassium 73mg, Fiber 2.3g, Sugars 7.7g, WW Pts 6 Note: Omitting the salt reduces the sodium to 3g

If you don't have Praline Pumpkin Seeds on hand, feel free to substitute plain.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.