Granola-spice bars

!! Warning !! If you find pepper a bit spicy, then tone down the mixed-spice or leave it out completely. These are ideal kept in the freezer as a pre-training snack (recipe makes 12 bars, but I’d halve that to suffice for most people as a pre-training snack) or have the full bar as a snack when you are sick of having fruit and yoghurt (again…)

Makes 12 bars (or 24 pre-training squares)

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup wholemeal spelt flour
• ½ cup wholemeal self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 heaped tsp cinnamon
• 1 heaped tsp mixed spice
• 1 cup oats
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ heaping cup dried apricots, chopped
• ½ heaping cup dates, chopped
• 3 Tbsp honey, dissolved in ½ cup hot water
• 3 Tbsp tahini
• 3 Tbsp macadamia oil
• 2 whole eggs, whisked

METHOD

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C, and line a brownie tin (20x30cm) with baking paper
2. Sift flours, baking powder and spices in a large bowl, then add oats, seeds and dried fruit and combine.
3. In a separate heat-proof bowl, mix the honey with boiling water and stir to dissolve. Then add the tahini (at this point it will look quite disgusting – don’t worry, that is normal, just stir it up) and finally add the oil to this mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk your eggs.
4. Now pour the honey mix and eggs to your dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour this thick batter into your prepared pan and bake 15-20minutes, or until golden. Err on the side of undercooking as the wholemeal flours lend the mixture to being dry when overcooked.
5. Once cooled, cut into 12 bars is using as snacks, or 24 squares if pre-training snacks. Store in a cool dry place in an airtight container for up to 1 week, otherwise, wrap your bars and store in the freezer.