Homemade Peanut Butter and Berry Breakfast Bars

I picked up a new exercise obsession this month- spinning at FlyWheel in South Lake Union!  I love it, but after burning 650 calories + in a 45 minute, 7am class, I am insanely starving by 9am.  As a result, I have found myself scarfing down a reduced-fat turkey bacon breakfast sandwich at Starbucks on more than one occasion- needless to say, it is time to change ways.

In efforts of doing so, I decided to make my own breakfast bars and will start a juicing detox next week.  My breakfast bars turned out great and I even made my own peanut butter to go in them- super super easy! Next time, I will most likely add some flax seed and perhaps some protein powder…so if you are feeling it, go ahead and make a call on how much to add to the Breakfast Bar ingredient list below.

Homemade Peanut Butter – literally takes 8 minutes and I found the general recipe on Pinterest.

What you need:

• 2 cups of peanuts – your choice, either salted or unsalted
• 2 tbsp of honey or agave nectar
• Salt, to taste

Put peanuts in your food processor and turn it on high.  Let it run for about 5-6 minutes…you will see a couple different stages.  1st- the peanuts will look finally chopped.  2nd- they will clump in a solid ball and you will worry if you are ruining your food processor…keep going.  3rd- you can scrape the sides of the processor a bit but eventually the peanuts will start to cream.

When the peanuts are at the texture you desire, mix in the honey/agave and salt if needed.

Immediately jar or in this case, measure out 1 cup.  If you jar it, I read that it can stay good for up to 2 months…but I don’t think it can last in your house for 2 months! YUM.

Berry Breakfast Bars- preheat your oven for 350 and prepare a baking dish (recommend 9″ x 9″)

What you need:

• 1 cup of peanut butter
• 3/4 cups agave
• 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup of Rice Krispies cereal or alternative (Cheerios, Kashi, etc)
• 1 cup toasted or roasted almonds, slightly chopped in chunks
• 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup of dried blueberries

In a large saucepan, combine the peanut butter and agave while whisking on medium heat.

After all the lumps have disappeared, add the vanilla and cinnamon.

Stir in the oats, cereal, almonds, cranberries and blueberries.

Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to the baking dish.  Pat down the mixture to fill the entire dish and pop in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Pull from the oven and let it cool thoroughly- this is very important.

Cut your bars (should make 9-12 depending on the size) and wrap in wax paper for an easy grab-and-go breakfast bar or snack!