Pumpkin-Mango Granola Pucks #thereciperedux

With only a week to go until Rise Up And Shine II, I've been turning my attention towards making some healthy, hearty, "power foods" for both the volunteers and the participants. Of course, Nature's Path has made things a lot easier for everyone to stay "on their path" by giving me an awesome selection of their cereals (the same ones you'll get if you win my giveaway!). Granola bars are definitely one of the most obvious "healthy" snacks out there, but they're usually made with raw oats, not to mention a boatload of sugar and fats. That's the way the original recipe I chose to tweak was too - and while the sweetness factor is still on the "high" side, by weight my version still has less sugar, calories, sodium and fat than a storebought bar and is full of extra nutrition from the pumpkin, rice bran, natural peanut butter and (of course) the star of the show - a full box of Nature's Path Chia Plus Coconut Chia Granola! To play off the "Thai" vibe I was getting from the coconut, peanut butter and pumpkin, I tossed in the leftover dried mango from my "Tablespoon" Trail Mix too. The more the merrier!

The "puck" shape of these treats makes them the ultimate portable breakfast, although it does take a little finessing to transform the moist, sticky batter from "gluey" to "chewy". Being thicker than your standard "bar" means that in order to keep the texture consistent, it takes a "two part" baking system: first in the muffin tin until set, but still soft, then free-standing on a sheet tray until the bottoms and sides crisp up a little bit. You'll never get "crunchy" granola bars, obviously - the lack of added oil and the abundance of pumpkin in these will see to that - but they have a toothsome quality and a definite ability to fill you up before or after a workout without giving you a major sugar hangover! I knew I had hit the jackpot when the photo I posted to Instagram got a like and a recipe request from the @naturespathorganic team - not to mention the craving from my coworkers! 




Pumpkin-Mango Granola Pucks
Makes 12
½ cup pure pumpkin puree (I roasted my own)
½ cup natural style creamy peanut butter (just peanuts and salt)
¼ cup Muscovado sugar
¼ cup golden syrup or honey
¼ cup maple syrup
½ tsp liquid stevia
¼ cup unflavoured pea protein powder
1 tbsp vanilla
1 box (about 4 cups) Nature's Path Chia Plus Coconut Chia Granola
½ cup large-flake rolled oats
1⁄3 cup stabilized rice bran
½ cup diced dried mango

1. Heat the oven to 325°F and line a muffin tin with paper liners
2. In a bowl, beat together the pumpkin, peanut butter, sugar, syrups, stevia, protein powder and vanilla until smooth.
3. Add the granola, oats, bran and mango, stirring until everything is well coated.
4. Pack ¼ cupfuls into the liners, pressing in as well as you can with the back of a spoon or disher.
5. Bake for 40 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and press the tops of the pucks down firmly to compact.
7. Cool 10 minutes in the tin, then move the pucks to a baking sheet.
8. Bake 15 minutes.
9. Let cool completely before eating or storing in the fridge (up to 1 week) or freezer (up to 2 months).

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 278.3
Total Fat: 10.6 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 75.8 mg
Total Carbs: 39.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.5 g
Protein: 7.8 g