Healthy Cashew Butter Oatmeal Bars

These nutty, energizing, and healthy cashew butter oatmeal bars are perfect for a before-workout snack. They are beyond easy to make and filled with chocolate, oats, and cashew butter topped with a butterscotch drizzle.

The inspiration...

I went for a long run the other day. I took a few months off running because cold winter days make it hard to go out running. Even worse, it is impossible to feel motivated to run long distances indoors. I finally got my body moving again and it feels great! Before most of my early morning runs, I don't like to eat anything. But, on a longer run, I like to eat a little something beforehand. That is what inspired me to make these Healthy Cashew Butter Oatmeal Bars. These bars are easy to make and they will last the week to enjoy before or after a hard workout. I like to grab a bar before I go on a run to give me a little bit of energy boost. The cashew butter and oatmeal give me an extra boost in energy on my longer runs.

These bars are made with all-natural ingredients with whole grain oats, dark chocolate chips, and creamy cashew butter. I think whole foods has the best cashew butter because it is the perfect creamy consistency.

A few tips...

• Baking - the batter will be on the thicker clumpier side and all you need to do is press the batter into the baking dish to fit. It will bake into nice bars in the oven.

• Old fashion whole wheat rolled oats - this is a standard oatmeal ingredient I use in my house and it is perfect for these bars. I blended the oats in my bullet blender for a few seconds so the bars were not too crunchy.

• Cashew butter - creamy cashew butter is the best for this recipe. You can substitute with any butter like almond or peanut butter. Any nut butter needs to be creamy and well mixed.

• Milk - I used lactose-free whole milk in this recipe but any milk or non-dairy milk will work in this recipe.

• Storage - these bars will last the week stored in an air-tight container.

• Drizzle topping - I drizzled butterscotch on top of these bars for a pretty look. A chocolate or butterscotch drizzle will work well on these bars.

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Healthy Cashew Butter Oatmeal Bars

Serving size: 12- 16

Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup cashew butter

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 1 cup whole grain oats, blended

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup milk

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.

Step 2: First, melt the cashew butter in a microwave for 30 seconds. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, and melted cashew butter until smooth. Next, add in the vanilla extract, and milk until smooth.

Step 3: Fold in the whole wheat flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the dry ingredients until thick dough forms. The batter will be clumpy.

Step 4: Next, add the batter into the baking pan, press, and smooth out until the dough meets the edges of the baking pan. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Remove the bars from the oven when the bars are lightly browned on top.

Step 5: As an extra step, decorate the bars with melted chocolate or butterscotch drizzle. Slice and enjoy!

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