Yesterday afternoon I baked. I have a paper due soon, and I procrastinate focus best with a clean house and baking. My house sparkles during finals 
I decided to make a chocolate spin-off of my favorite recipes: Great Scott Granola Bars . Can you really go wrong combining chocolate and peanut butter?
No, I don’t think so either.
Even better, these granola bars aren’t loaded with fat or sugar, and they’re bursting with healthy ingredients like flax meal and hemp seed. This is a good for you combination of chocolate and peanut butter 
Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Heat 3/4 C brown rice syrup, 1/4 C natural peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla + 1 TBSP sugar on the stove (med-low) until it starts to simmer.
Combine 1 C rolled oats, 1 C puffed millet and 1/4 C each flax meal, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and coconut in a large bowl.
Add 1/4 C dark chocolate chips.
Pour peanut butter mixture over dry ingredients.
Mix all ingredients together.
Pour into a 9×13 pan lined with wax paper.
Press mixture flat (I cover with wax paper and use a rolling pin/measuring cup/glass/whatever’s close to flatten)
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
Cut into 12 bars (use a pizza cutter!) Each bar is ~200 calories.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
by: EatCleanLiveGreen.com
Ingredients:
- 3/4 C brown rice syrup
- 1/4 C natural peanut butter
- 1 C rolled oats
- 1 C puffed millet
- 1/4 C ground flax meal
- 1/4 C hemp seeds
- 1/4 C sunflower seeds
- 1/4 C unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 C dark chocolate chips
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Directions:
- Heat the brown rice syrup, peanut butter, vanilla + sugar on the stove (med-low) until it starts to simmer.
- Combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl
- Turn off heat and pour peanut butter mixture over remaining ingredients. Mix well.
- Pour into a baking dish lined with wax or parchment paper
- Wet your hands and pat down to get the surface totally smooth without sticky hands.
- Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
- Cut into bars. (Tip: use a pizza cutter!)
Makes 12 bars at ~200 calories each.
Tomorrow: successful recipe #2! You won’t want to miss this one either!
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
those look devine!
jenna
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I would say to roast butternut squash instead. American pumpkin, sans sugar, isn’t all that nice. Here in OZ they have a different brand/type and it’s awesome. I’d cook w/ squash.
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Ohmigosh these look amazing!!!
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That looks sooo good! I just got some brown rice syrup and I have no idea what to do with it!
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oh these bars look great! good work even it did mean procrastinating, it was worth it
yum!
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I do the same thing when I am stressed! Baking and cleaning. It makes me feel like a 1950s housewife!
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Oh these look so good! Hopefully they will beat out my current granola bar recipe because the one I use now does not yield bars that actually stay in bar form
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Mmmmm wow those bars look so yummy!
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wow-zaaaa! those look super tasty! i looove granola bars & these look like they’d be fantastic.
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Hey that looks delicious. I’ll have to give that granola bar recipe a try!
Can you use other sweeteners besids brown rice syrup? As I’m a poor student and can’t really afford that….
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Those look so good!! I am ganna have to give it a try!
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those look so good! i don’t think I’ve seen puffed millet before
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Allison Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 11:48 am
I found puffed millet in with the other ‘health food’ cereals – it’s a bulk pack from Nature’s Path. and super cheap!
Bronwyn, honey might work. I like how bendy brown rice syrup makes the bars though! The cost bothers me too though, but I figure since the other ingredients are cheap, the overall recipe works out to be not too bad.
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I do the same thing when I’m procrastinating!!! Too funny
Love these granola bars – they look amazing!
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Those look so good! I do the same thing when I’m procrastinating!
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omg that looks amazing! I would throw in some craisins or raisins in there too!
I always cook up new food when I am bored LOL
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Those look yum, yum, yum. I tend to procrastinate similarly
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Those granola bars look phenomenal! I have never cooked a pumpkin. Libby does such a fine job herself.
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Thanks for the recipe! I LOVE making my own granola bars at home….much healthier than the ones commercially made. Question though: Is rice syrup good for you per say? I know that corn syrup is not. I’m going to google it now but wondered if you have any opinion/info on it?
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ah, i just read up on it…looks like it is a natural sweetener, can come in organic form. thanks again for the recipe!
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Allison Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 7:43 am
Katherine – yep, brown rice syrup is definitely a good for you sweetener! It’s a mixture of simple/complex carbohydrates, so the simple sugar breaks down first giving you some immediate energy, and then the complex sugars take more time to break down, giving you some ‘time-release’ energy
Mama Pea – lol. Libby does do a good job!
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Thanks for your comment on my blog!! Your blog looks fantastic, and those bars would have beat ANY of the bars that were given away at the ADA expo I was at!
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Looks yummy and healthy…Thanks for sharing, Allison
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looks awesome to me!
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hey girl! sorry to be MIA. you had some really good posts while i was absent. i have never seen the PBAG bar in stores but now i am going to be on the lookout since it got such a thumbs up. also i like that your sponsors are hand in hand with your blog values. props. ive never tried drinking straight wheat grass! hmmm. anyway, those bars look awesome! i loved the play by play photos of you making them. thanks for the recipe! hope you are doing well chica!
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OMG!! A woman after my own heart! Chocolate Peanut Butter is the best combo ever! I’m definitely going to give these a try.
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I can’t eat oats. Do you think these would work with 2 cups puffed millet or 1 cup each puffed rice and millet?
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Allison Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 11:17 am
M, I think it’s worth a try! It would probably be a more crunchy bar, kind of like a rice krispy treat. Let me know how it works!
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