After my wedding,when I came to US for the first time,I remember how excited I was to see the kitchen ,thinking it's all mine,my little space where I can cook anything and soon my mind was bubbling with thoughts (day-dreaming) of making breakfast,lunch,dinner and serving on time to my dear hubby ..like a true bharatiya naari/biwi/true Indian dutiful wife as you see in a Bollywood movie :P or like our moms and it wasn't that I was a great cook or mastered even the basics of cooking well ,but I did have the interest to cook especially after being nagged by my mom ,all aunts from time to time preaching,"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." & my only assurance & my last resort or say my lead and my guide to cooking was some of my mom's recipes that I scribbled in the back of a book which only I could decode . Not to mention I was totally relying on it with a "No worries, well taken care of attitude ,cooking is like mere daayen haath ka khel ;) ."
However,when it came to preparing breakfast next day,little did I know,I only had bunch of curries jotted in those pages :((...I remember feeling utterly helpless ,sweating and I was like,"Well,Manju darling welcome to the married and harried life !!" ."....Main pareshaan pareshan pareshaan pareshaan..."( ISHAQZAADE Hindi movie song:P )
Thankfully it was Sunday and I somehow saw bunch of fruits staring me on the kitchen counter as if saying,"Mein hu na" :P ..."I am at your service,Use meee !"....and I made a fruit juice which was more pulpy than juicy infact ...that was the first breakfast I made for my hubby which he drank without any complains ,happily...which made me feel more guilty... After seeing my face gloomy and wilted and after knowing my dilemma,he infact lol....and he took me to the shop ,where he introduced me to the varities of "Cereals/corn flakes/Oats" .He said , "Till you learn the usual Indian breakfast we'll survive with this,no worries babes." :D . "...aur hamri jaan mein jaan to aayi ,hamri jaan mein jaan (Don movie song) ".When I read the label I was super happy as it appeared to be quite healthy as well.
Ever since then it became a part and parcel of our breaking fast life :P...I was extremely satisfied with the variety of cereals as they were not only healthy but also super easy to make :P:D...everyday I couldn't thank the person who invented these cereals :P.
However,with the passage of time I learned the ABC's of cooking and then those cereals started tasting bore and couldn't stand it anymore.But keeping in mind the health benefits they have and being a time saver , I wanted to recycle it ,renovate it ,redevelop it as something more interesting and tasty..and there....that's how my "Healthy no bake Granola bars" were born !!
These bars are made up of pumpkin seeds flax granola + different kinds of nuts + Almond butter + Agave nectar + dates + cranberries and moreover no baking is involved,the best part .
It has got everything to keep the hunger at bay in a healthiest way.
A healthy,super quick ,nutty and tasty breakfast or snack on the go !!!
Healthy no bake Granola bars
Ingredients
Pumkin flax granola - 1 cup
Nuts mix (Almonds,macadamia,pecan,pistachio,groundnuts),chopped- 3/4 cup
Cranberries,chopped - 1/2 cup
Dates,pitted- 3/4 cup
Almond butter - 1/4 cup
Agave nectar- 1/4 cup
Method:
Crush dates and a few cranberries together in a mixer until they form a thick paste ,like, that can be rolled into a ball.Keep it aside.
- In a deep big bowl or a container,mix granola,chopped nuts mix,dates and cranberry paste made above.
- Heat a pan and put the almond butter into it and allow it to melt.
- Pour the melted almond butter and agave nectar into the granola-nut mix-dates-cranberry paste above and give a stir until everything is mixed well.
- Transfer it into a pan or a large plate lined with a parchment paper . Put the rest of the cranberries on top of the mixture.
- Using hand or ladle press the mixture down until evenly flattened that can yield bar shape.
- Cover it well with a proper lid or plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for an hour or more until set.
- After that chop them into desired bar shape and have it as a healthy breakfast or as a quick snack .
- You can use any cereal/granola or oats.Similarly use any nuts .
- Dates and cranberry is ground to a paste to help in binding the mixture intact.
- You can use honey instead of agave nectar as well and peanut butter instead of almond butter.
Eat,love,live well,
