Chocolate Chip & Cranberry Lentil Granola Bars

Ingredients

 1 cup (250ml) red lentils
 1 ¾ cups (315ml) water
 3 cups Manitoba rolled oats
 ¾ cup Manitoba whole-wheat flour
 ¼ cup ground flax
 1 cup (250ml) walnuts – chopped
  cup peanut butter
 ¾ cup corn syrup
 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla
 1 tsp (5ml) cinnamon
 1 tsp (5ml) salt
 ½ cup dried cranberries – chopped
 1 cup dark chocolate (250g) – coarsely chopped

Directions

1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2

Put water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Add red lentils and reduce heat to a simmer – will take approximately 20 minutes to cook, uncovered. Remove from heat, drain excess liquid (if any) and allow to cool.

3

Combine oats, flour, flax, walnuts and cinnamon in a large bowl and whisk together.

4

In a separate bowl, combine lentils, peanut butter, honey, maple syrup and vanilla. Blend with a whisk until fully incorporated.

5

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix fully. Fold in chopped cranberries and chocolate.

6

Press the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking pan and bake for 25 minutes.

7

When done, allow to cool and cut into desired bar-shaped size.

Chocolate Chip & Cranberry Lentil Granola Bars

Recipe provided courtesy of Great Tastes of Manitoba. Visit their website for video instructions on how to prepare Chocolate Chip & Cranberry Lentil Granola Bars and other great Manitoba recipes. MOGA is a Product Placement Sponsor of Great Tastes of Manitoba.

Ingredients

 1 cup (250ml) red lentils
 1 ¾ cups (315ml) water
 3 cups Manitoba rolled oats
 ¾ cup Manitoba whole-wheat flour
 ¼ cup ground flax
 1 cup (250ml) walnuts – chopped
  cup peanut butter
 ¾ cup corn syrup
 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla
 1 tsp (5ml) cinnamon
 1 tsp (5ml) salt
 ½ cup dried cranberries – chopped
 1 cup dark chocolate (250g) – coarsely chopped

Directions

1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2

Put water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Add red lentils and reduce heat to a simmer – will take approximately 20 minutes to cook, uncovered. Remove from heat, drain excess liquid (if any) and allow to cool.

3

Combine oats, flour, flax, walnuts and cinnamon in a large bowl and whisk together.

4

In a separate bowl, combine lentils, peanut butter, honey, maple syrup and vanilla. Blend with a whisk until fully incorporated.

5

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix fully. Fold in chopped cranberries and chocolate.

6

Press the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking pan and bake for 25 minutes.

7

When done, allow to cool and cut into desired bar-shaped size.

Yield:  20 bars
Recipe courtesy of Great Tastes of Manitoba