Go Anywhere Bars (GF!)

This weekend, I was craving granola bars. Not store bought granola bars, but the dense, textured homemade granola bars that are packed full of the good stuff: the kind you buy by the ski slopes that are custom made by a local baker and you buy for waaay too much money. So I looked in my cupboard, studied up on some recipes, and took a crack at it. For once, I was going for a specific taste more than a nutritional profile, but these bars hit home nutritionally too. There's no refined sugars, and plenty of protein and omega-3 fatty acids from the peanuts and the flax seed. So give this recipe a try and bring a batch on your next hike or bike ride and go anywhere!

Go Anywhere Bars

1/2c peanut butter
12 whole dates, pitted
1c vanilla almond milk
1/4c ground flax seed
1T cornstarch
1/2t baking soda
1T cinnamon
2c rolled oats
2c crisp rice cereal
1/2c dried cranberries
1/2c raisins
1/2c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. In the food processor, combine peanut butter, dates and almond milk. Process until a smooth paste forms.
3. Add in flax seed, cornstarch, baking soda, and cinnamon. Process again for a short time.
4. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Stir in oats, cereal, cranberries, raisins, and chocolate chips.
5. Press mixture into a 9x13 baking pan. (My batter didn't cover the whole thing, so I just kept it to one side.)
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Cut into bars and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Let cool and enjoy!