Buckwheat Energy Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries or candied peel)
• 1 cup soft dried apricots
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper. Spread out the oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds evenly on the tray, then roast for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
3. Meanwhile, put the apricots, maple syrup and water in a blender and blend until completely smooth, then transfer to a mixing bowl. Next, add the buckwheat groats, raisins and cranberries.
4. Remove the baking tray from the oven and leave to cool, but make sure the oven remains switched on. Once cool, transfer the roasted oats, pumpkin seeds, and almonds to the large mixing bowl.
5. Line an 7” x 7” square cake tin with greaseproof paper before transferring the mixture into the tin. Smooth over the top using a piece of greaseproof paper, pushing down to make sure the mixture is compact. Make sure you push down as firmly as possible to prevent the bars from falling apart when you slice them into bars.
6. Place the cake tin in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the cake tin from the oven and leave the energy bars to cool completely. Note: the energy bars might crumble if you try to slice them before they have cooled completely.
8. Take the energy mix out of the cake tin and slice into 10 or more energy bars.