Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brown Rice Bars

Oh, gluten. You suck.

I have been trying REALLY hard to limit my gluten intake as much as humanly possible. And it’s hard. Very, very hard. I love my bread. I love my oatmeal. I love a good bagel. And let’s be honest, I LOVE beer. But gluten does NOT love me.

And so, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I think that gluten and I are heading towards a messy break up. I’ve got to get it out of my life. It weighs me down, makes me feel like crap and just sucks all the energy out of me. Much like many of my past relationships, now that I think about it.

Sure, we’ll still be friends. We can hang out every so often, maybe indulge in a breadstick or two when I’m out to eat. Treat myself to a thick, burger bun on the rare occassion. But for the most part, we’re dunzo.

And these insanely addictive granola bars were my first real attempt at a gluten free creation. Most of my dishes are free of wheat, but it’ll be a hard transition to get the gluten out of my baked goods. I brought these bars to a meeting yesterday (I may be selling some goods wholesale soon-yay!) and to a networking event this morning and people lost their shit over them. Like, seriously were foaming at the mouth, hoping I had another stash for them. Can’t blame them though, they are THAT good!

4 cups organic puffed brown rice

2 1/2 cups gluten free rolled oats (got some at Trader Joe’s for a good price)

1 1/2 cups organic honey, agave or brown rice syrup (ya’ll know I’m ok with raw, organic honey-not a fan of agave, but use whatever sticky substance that floats your fancy!)

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

1 cup organic peanut butter

1 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup organic raw sugar

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup wheat germ (optional, but not GF)

1 tbsp pure vanilla

• Mix together puffed rice, oats, flaxseed and wheat germ
• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine honey, sugar and coconut oil and cook for about 5 minutes or until everything is melted and easy to stir
• Add vanilla and peanut butter, stir quickly and then remove from heat
• Pour over dry mixture and stir until everything is well combined
• Let cool for about 10 minutes before stirring in chocolate chips (otherwise, they just melt!)
• Pour mix into a parchment lined baking sheet and press mixture down to fill the entire sheet
• Let set in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting-they also need to be stored in the fridge because they tend to get a little soft when stored at room temp