Blueberry Coconut and Maple Granola Bars

These blueberry coconut and maple granola bars are possibly the tastiest ‘heathy’ treat I have made on the blog so far.
As its January I do like to make a few more healthier treats than usual and these granola bars were born out of my love for blueberries, such a sweet and deceptively nutritious fruit, maple syrup – super sweet but with so many health benefits going on if you get REAL maple and coconut which was the superfood which everyone was raving about a couple of years ago.

The bars use coconut oil and coconut sugar for the coconut elements. Coconut sugar apparently is a low GI food. If you can’t get hold of coconut sugar in your local health food store, you can buy this easily online.

To make the bars I toasted some oats and chopped pecans in the oven for a few minutes. I then melted together coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla in a saucepan.

The toasted ingredients were then doused in the slightly cooled melted mix. This was such a satisfying process, watching the dried oats absorb all of the sweet smelling liquid.
Lastly I mixed through the dried blueberries before transferring the mix to a small container lined with greaseproof paper. I pressed down HARD on the oaty mix to make sure everything was compressed as much as it could be.

This was then fridged for at least a couple of hours before being chopped up into bars.
The result was a sweet, sweet bar of oaty goodness. The coconut flavor dominated with the maple notes in the background complimenting the juicy bursts of blueberry. The bars are packed with so many good ingredients and would provide you with a good amount of energy. Or, they just taste exceedingly delicious as a coffee-break snack.
Here's how I made them:
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Blueberry Coconut and Maple Granola Barsby S Vettese January-16-2017Toasted oats and pecans mixed with coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup and dried blueberries

• 230 grams porridge oats
• 80 grams chopped pecans
• 80 ml pure maple syrup
• 55 grams coconut oil
• 50 grams coconut sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 60 grams dried blueberries

InstructionsPreheat the oven to 150C and line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Scatter on the oats and chopped pecans and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes or just until you begin to smell the oats and they have turned lightly golden brown. Allow to cool slightly.In a large saucepan add the maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut sugar, vanilla and salt. Stir over a medium heat until the ingredients have melted and come together.Place the toasted oats and pecans in a large bowl and pour over the melted ingredients. Stir to combine so all the dried ingredients are coated with the wet.Stir through the dried blueberries then transfer the mix to a container about 5”x7” in size, lined with greaseproof paper.Press the mix down as firmly as you can, all over. This will ensure the bars don’t crumble too much when cut into bars.Pop in the fridge for at least 2 hours, and then remove from the greaseproof paper and cut into bars or squares.DetailsPrep time: 25 mins Chill time: 2 hour Total time: 2 hour 25 mins Yield: 24 bars approx.