Before my group tennis lesson on Saturday, my friend and I were watching her 3-year-old take his tennis lesson. Such a cutie. So cute that he swung the racquet more like a hockey stick or golf club, but it didn’t matter — he was having a blast. As soon as he saw he had an audience, he broke his concentration to point at us, jump up and down a time of two, and smile the biggest smile.
A few minutes later, his tennis lesson was over and he ran off the court and up to his mom and I.
“Ms. Nicole, do you remember when you came to my house?” he asked.
Of course!!
“Ms. Nicole, look I have pumas on my clothes.” as he pointed to the Puma logos on his shorts and tee-shirt. He was very, very proud of his pumas.
After our tennis lesson, we went to pick him up in the child care room. He was so excited when he saw us and quickly grabbed his lunchbox.
“Mom and Ms. Nicole, I ate my banana but I saved my cereal bar for you to share after your tennis lesson. I thought you might be hungry. I was hungry after I played tennis.” he rattled off.
Melt my little heart. So stinking cute and sweet.
But, I passed on his cereal bar as I knew I had something better waiting for me at home — these!
I made a batch of these Peanut Butter Trail Mix Bars last weekend and kept a few in the fridge and froze the rest to grab as I need them. While I was originally a little put off with the small portion size, a little bit of these bars goes a long way. They’re rich, sweet, satisfying…and nutritious. Plus, they’d make any kid happy!
- ⅔ cup almonds
- ⅔ cup cashews
- 1½ cups old-fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup ground flaxseed
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup raisins
- ½ cup honey
- 1 cup all natural creamy peanut butter, melted
- Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper; set aside.
- Place almonds and cashews in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 10-15 times to break into large pieces; transfer to a large bowl and add the oats, ground flaxseed, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and raisins. Mix thoroughly.
- In a small bowl, mix together the honey and melted peanut butter and and pour over the dry ingredients. Mix until fully coated. Transfer the mixture into prepared baking dish and press firmly to flatten the bars using the back of a spatula.
- Place bars into the refrigerator to set up for at least one hour. Cut into 16 squares. Bars may be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
It looks like a busy, FREEZING week ahead. I want to go to Cabo San Lucas!! 😉
Be well,
Mmm, I love homemade bars! Somehow, they always seem much better than the ones you buy at the store. Plus, this recipe has peanut butter and chocolate which makes me love it even more!
I have been trying to make bars every week because its so much more better and cheaper. Will be pinning this for next time. Thanks Nicole.
These look great! Definitely going to try these sometime soon. I made some peanut butter trail mix cookies recently that were great, so it’s exciting to have a healthier alternative.
These look fantastic! I wonder how they would turn out with a little bit of natural protein powder.
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I’m just beautifully! 🙂 Sounds yummy!