I'm sure that everyone in the world is now aware that a low GI diet is the best way to stay healthy for any and everyone. That and exercise are the 2 things that I try my best to keep consistent in my home.
Needless to say, it is hard to find low GI sweets and especially that taste good and are affordable! Well, I have great news! I have concocted a tasty little treat :-) I call them granola bites!
Before we get started, let me clarify, I do not know what the GI of these are, what the serving size should be, or even if they actually are better for you than peanut butter cookies, BUT they are made of better stuff than Crisco, flour, and sugar!
Granola Bites
1/4 c Peanut Butter (I used creamy, but chunky might be interesting)
1/4 c Blackberry Honey (I think I'll sub Agave next time, I'm not fond of honey)
1 Heaping Tbl Oat Bran (Not needed, but it adds fiber which lowers the GI)
3/4 c Blueberry Granola with Flax (This was just the kind I bought)
Non-stick spray
1 Foil-lined baking sheet
About the ingredients:
I used creamy peanut butter, but chunky would be interesting. There is plenty of texture without it though. I'm not fond of the flavor of honey in general, so I think I'll use agave next time in place of the honey. You can use any honey, I just happened to buy a small amount of this blackberry honey to try it out. Oat bran ups the fiber content, which in turn lowers the GI of whatever you're adding it to. You do not have to add it. You could also sub it with wheat germ or flax meal to have the same effect. Now I'm going to tell you a story: We have a new container store in town called Winco. It isn't my favorite store because it's crazy busy, it isn't the cheapest when you price match like I do, and I haven't been there enough to know where everything is. It is also at least 25 min from my house. BUT I do absolutely LOVE their selection of granolas, flours, candies (of course!) and I love that I can buy as little as I want. I can buy a cup of granola and try it out before I buy $6 worth! Anyways, all of this to tell you that I bought Blueberry granola with flax while I was browsing. I only chose it because it was the only option with flax in it and I love the health benefits of flax! So... you can use any granola!
Steps to make it!
Heads up! I only made a small amount because I was trying it out, but you can easily double or triple this to make a larger batch. Since I have eaten half of my trial batch while typing this, I'll definitely need to make bigger batches.
Preheat your over to 200 degrees F
1) Put the peanut butter and honey in a microwave safe bowl
2)Nuke it at regular power for 15-20 seconds. Your honey should start boiling.
3) Mix it until the peanut butter is completely melted and the mixture is uniform.
4)Add the oat bran and granola. Mix until everything is well coated. If it seems too runny, just add some more granola.
5) Your mixture should seem sticky and a little dry. Mine looked like it wouldn't stay together if I picked it up with my fingers.
6) Now just scoop little drops onto your foil lined baking sheet. They aren't going to grow, so they can be close together.
Here's a picture of mine:
7) Bake in your preheated oven for about 30 minutes. You aren't really baking them, you're trying to dry them out a bit. That will help them stick together and not be so messy.
8) Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes on the sheet. They need to cool completely before moving them or they will fall apart.
9) Now you can enjoy them! And boy are they tasty!
These might be a great replacement for your child's lunchtime treat. Pack a baggie with a few of these instead of a pudding or cookies. You can always make this even healthier by changing the peanut butter to an almond or sunflower seed butter, switch to agave or no sweetener, and choose a granola without extra sugar and that's high in fiber.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!
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