What to bake this weekend: Delicious, zesty blueberry granola bars

Zesty blueberry granola bars
Makes 10 bars

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 80ml pure maple syrup
• 60g almond butter
• 2 eggs
• 180g rolled oats
• 45g oat flour
• 35g raw sunflower seeds
• 30g raw walnut pieces
• 2 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 125g fresh or frozen blueberries

If you can’t find oat flour, feel free to use spelt or brown rice flour instead.

Method

1  Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a 20x20cm baking sheet with parchment paper.

2  Melt the coconut oil by placing it in a small pot on the stovetop over a medium-low heat until it liquefies. Remove it from the heat and stir in the maple syrup and almond butter.

3  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and add the coconut oil and maple syrup mixture. Make sure the coconut oil and maple syrup is only lukewarm so that it doesn’t cook the eggs.

4  Combine the oats, oat flour, sunflower seeds, walnut pieces, lemon zest and ground flaxseeds. Then fold this into the liquid ingredients, adding the blueberries. Mix well with a spoon. You may want to use your hands to help the sticky granola dough form.

5  Spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet, using your hands to spread and press it down evenly.

6  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the slab is firm and slightly brown on top.

7  Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Carefully lift the edges of the parchment paper to take the slab out of the pan. Then slice into bars.

8  You can store the granola bars in a container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Extracted from The Living Kitchen: Healing Recipes to Support your Body During Cancer Treatment and Recovery by Tamara Green and Sarah Grossman (Robinson).