Nutri Bars!

It has been quite long since I am only 'thinking' of making these Nutri Bars, have been learning of their health benefits and have been watching people making them but finally today put myself together to make them. Oh! was I making it sound complicated? Let me tell you that making these Nutri bars is damn easy (Once you have collected a bunch of ingredients though! Wink!) 

These 'Nutri Bars' or 'Oats Bars' as called by many, are super healthy as they are nothing but the end product of dry roasting a few nuts, mixing well with some honey, dates and literally setting aside. As these bars are boosted with the goodness of it's ingredients, they make for a quick on-the-go breakfast or even an evening snack for that craving of an inevitable-munch.

Ingredients: 

You would definitely agree with me on one thing that having a regularly used, kitchen-staple kind of a cup/ bowl as a measurement is much relieving so I have purposefully used the same here and have refrained myself from Grams and Ounces.

So, to measure all the ingredients for these Nutri-Bars, take any Cup/ Bowl from your kitchen (depending upon what quantity you want to make) and get started.

Quick tip: For a first-time trial, one may start with a small tiny bowl worth of measurements.

This recipe requires:

Oats: 2 and a half Cups

Almonds (Chopped roughly): 1 and a half Cup

Cashews (Chopped roughly): 1 and a half Cup

Melon Seeds: 1 Cup

Sunflower Seeds: 1 Cup

Flax Seeds: 1 Cup   

Dates (Roughly chopped and Pureed): 2 Cups

Honey: 1 and a half Cup 

Chocolate (Optional): Enough to coat the bars.

Procedure:

Step 1: In a pan, dry roast two and a half cup of Oats first and once roasted well till they turn flaky, keep them aside. We are not expecting them to go darker in color. Since here I have used regular Quaker Oats, I sifted them through a sieve in order to get rid of any powdered Oats. Sieving won't be required in case of rolled Oats.

Step 2: In the same pan, dry roast roughly chopped Almonds and Cashews. You can take Walnuts and even Pecans if available. We need them to be chunky and not finally chopped so as to get some crunch while we eat these bars.

Step 3: Then dry roast the Melon seeds separately till they turn crisp. Once done, keep aside. Similarly, roast Flax Seeds and Sunflower Seeds as well. You can even toast some Sesame Seeds and add to this mix but since we already have some 'Til Ladoo' made for 'Sankranti', I have purposefully avoided Sesame over here.

Step 4: Now that all the roasting part is done, mix everything together in a big mixing bowl.   

Step 5: By the time Oats and all the Nuts are cooling down, get the Dates ready. For that roughly chop the Dates and grind them into a smooth thick paste. You may need to churn them quite a few times in order to get the required thick-paste-like consistency. We do not need even a single drop of water.

Step 6: Once the Oats mixture cools down to room temperature, add Honey, Black Raisins and Dates paste. Mix well until everything is well combined. 

Step 7: Now we need to set it in a square tin. I have used my regular Brownie pan lined with Butter paper. After pouring in the mix, you need to press it down gently and evenly. Once done, pop it up in the refrigerator to set for 2 hours.

Step 8: After a couple of hours, you will notice that everything has come together and is set properly. Now we only need to cut pieces out of them and dip them in some melted chocolate which is totally optional. I have cut these in a small to medium size and have kept some as it is while covered the rest with melted chocolate. Both taste equally good.  

I hope you have liked the recipe and it's a must try! Now it's going to be my everyday morning regime to have one of these with a tall glass of milk. 

Thank you.