Vegan's Chronicles

Nutty Oat Bars

I honestly can't remember the last time I had a granola or energy bar. I haven't been able to find any vegan ones in Korea, which is kind of ridiculous since there's no reason for companies to be adding animal products in them. Actually, what's really ridiculous is how simple it is to just make your own. They're so easy to put together, and for all you control-freaks out there, you get total control over what goes in them.

Oats, raisins, and a bunch of different nuts and seeds, all glued together with some brown rice syrup.

This recipe is super simple- you don't even need an oven! You just need a frying pan, a stove, and a cake pan. The ingredients and measurements themselves aren't set in stone by any means- just go with what you have (puffed rice, cashews, flax seeds, sesame seeds... ), and feel free to throw in as much of any ingredient as you desire.

{ Ingredients }
2 cups toasted rolled oats
1/4 cup each of chopped, toasted almonds and walnuts
1/4 cup each of raisins and sultanas
1/8 cup each of toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbs of brown rice syrup.
teeny bit of oil to coat the pan

{ Method }
1. Lightly grease the cake pan with some oil.
2. One by one, toast the oats and nuts (all separately) in a pan, and mix together in a bowl with some salt.
3. Heat the brown rice syrup in the pan until it is thin and runny (less than a minute).
4. Add all the other toasted ingredients and mix til everything is covered in the syrup and it clumps together.
5. Transfer everything to the cake pan and press it all down with your fingers (you might want to wet your fingers to prevent it from sticking too much).
6. After it has cooled a little but is still somewhat warm, turn it out onto a cutting board and chop it up into even portions. Pack them up to enjoy throughout the week!

magical.