A Delicious Post Recovery Snack

My colleague in New Brunswick recently served a delicious fruit & nut bar as an excellent post recovery snack at Fitness Alpha. In case you're curious, click here to learn more about her Fitness Alpha Program...the video segment starts at 9:10AM.

Not only were these bars a hit at my boot camp this morning...the kids also gave them two thumbs up!

Fruit & Nut Bar

20 min prep
SERVES 18

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup dried apricot, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisin
1/4 cup sunflower seed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

SYRUP MIXTURE
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey(creamed)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter

• Prepare 9x13 pan with non-stick spray (or line with parchment paper).
• In a large mixing bowl, toss all dry ingredients. Feel free to substitute your preferred nut or dried fruit.
• In a saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and allow to boil one minute. (Note: boiling the sugars is what helps the bars become firm and not sticky, so this step is important).
• After boiling, turn off heat; add vanilla and peanut butter. QUICKLY pour this hot mixture over the dry ingredients and toss to combine.
• Pour warm mixture into prepared pan. Wet your fingers and press the mixture down into the pan to compress the bars so they will slice evenly.
• When cool, use a sharp knife to cut into 18 bars (1 long lengthwise cut and 9 cuts across).

Enjoy!!