Time for our recipe of the week! These amazing granola bars are perfect on the go snacks for busy dancers, providing lots of nutrition and energy to keep you going, whilst being healthy, and tasty to boot! (They also happen to be Gluten, Oat, Casein AND Soy-Free, for anyone with allergies, bonus!)

No-bake Granola Bars

Adapted from Enlightened Cooking.

These Gluten/Oat/Casein/Soy-Free Granola Bars are better than store-bought “Clif” bars.

1 1/4 cups gluten-free brown rice cereal 1 cup quinoa flakes (or oatmeal) 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed 1/4 cup dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, raisins, cherries) 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut 1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, sesame seeds) 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips 1/3 cup gluten-free brown rice syrup (make sure it doesn’t contain barley malt) 1/2 cup nut butter (almond, cashew, peanut) 1 teaspoon vanilla extractLightly grease an 8-inch square pan. Tear a piece of parchment paper just large enough to cover the pan.Combine the brown rice cereal, quinoa flakes, flaxseed, dried fruit, coconut, nuts and chocolate chips in a large bowl.

This recipe is so versatile – you can substitute your favorite dried fruit and nuts.

Combine the brown rice syrup, and nut butter in a microwavable bowl and heat until just melted, about 30-60 seconds. Stir in vanilla extract.

Pour nut butter/syrup over cereal mixture and stir well with a spatula.

Mix with a spatula first, but then you really have to dig your hands in to mix everything together.

Now comes the messy part. Dig your hands into the cereal mixture and mix everything together really well.

Pour mixture into greased 8-inch pan. Place the sheet of parchment paper on top of the pan and press down firmly to bind ingredients.

Use a piece of parchment paper to press the granola bar mixture down firmly.

Refrigerate at least one hour. Cut into bars and store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Thanks to jeanetteshealthyliving.com for the recipe.

Dance snack: No-bake Granola Bars - yummy!