No Bake Cinnamon Crunch Bars

These no bake cinnamon crunch bars are packed full of healthy fats and protein, sweetened with raw local honey and held together with creamy Lindsay cinnamon almond butter, for a delicious sweet treat you’ll be happy to feed your family. They taste as good as your moms famous buttery baked bars but pack a nutritious punch minus the butter and refined sugar. I’m calling theses one heck of a mom win!

School is officially back in session, which means I’m back in the kitchen packing school lunches bright and early every day. We do home lunch four days a week and my youngest picks off the school lunch menu once a week. She would eat school lunch everyday if I allowed her to but I don’t. It’s more of a social thing rather than a food fight for her. She is the only one out of her classmates who brings a home lunch and complains about sitting at the table alone while everyone else is in line. Being the social butterfly that I am, I get it girlfriend, I really do.

I’m trying to help her understand my reasoning behind it. I like to know what she is putting in her body, so I can ensure she is fueling it with whole foods to help her stay healthy and strong. She’s seven so she doesn’t fully understand but we compromise and so far, this system is working for both of us.

I still like to give her options for home lunches so we decided to mimic the school lunch menu as best we could on the days she brings her lunch. For example, on pizza day we will make mini whole wheat english muffin pizzas or on spaghetti day we will whip up an italian pasta salad for dinner the night before and use up the leftovers for lunch. It also helps me stay out of the dreaded lunch rut giving me ideas to go off of.  This way she still has the power to choose and I can ensure a balanced homemade meal. Win win!

My School Lunch Rules:

1. Eat your fruit and veggies first.
2. Main dish second.
3. Treat last.
4. No sharing (mainly due to food allergies)
5. Don’t waste. Whatever is still edible and leftover becomes your afternoon snack.

We have extracurricular activities after school Monday through Thursday so I always make sure to pack an extra protein packed snack in her lunch to enjoy afterschool to fuel her body. These no bake cinnamon crunch bars are quickly becoming her first choice, right up there with powerballs. They taste like a treat but are loaded with healthy fats and protein!

Again. Winning!

What’s inside?

Simple ingredients like oats, pretzels, unsweetened coconut, Lindsay cinnamon almond butter, honey, coconut oil and a dash of salt. That’s it. Have you ever read the ingredients list on the back of packaged granola bars? Yuck. So many unnecessary ingredients. Made from scratch with real ingredients is the ONLY way to go. This recipe is also a fabulous base for mix-ins to customize your own bars.

You can prepare these gluten free as well buy using GF oats and pretzels, making it the perfect allergy friendly treat!

Secret sauce.

Lindsay almond butters are creamy and delicious so there is no judgement if you happen to lick your fingers while whipping up a batch of these! Unlike most almond butters, Lindsay is smooth and creamy just like peanut butter, making it easy to spoon and super simple to bake with.

Warming your almond butter and honey in a saucepan is highly recommended, don’t skip that part. It creates an almost caramel consistency that sets these bars apart from the rest! Ooey gooey GOODNESS!

Betcha can’t eat just one! I literally have to ration these. I store a few small bars in the clean eats snack drawer up front and keep the rest in a container piled under a few random items all the way in the back of the fridge! That way it takes a little extra work to get seconds… or thirds!!

If you haven’t already tried Lindsay almond butters yet, do that right now! While you’re there make sure to enter their almond butter and jelly contest HERE. Tell us… how do you make the perfect almond butter and jelly sandwich? Let us know! One grand prize winner gets an Almond Butter prize pack with a $100 Visa gift card and all THREE new Lindsay almond butter flavors. 50 runners-up will get a coupon for free Almond Butter! Run!

Speaking of almond butter and jelly sandwiches, I’m ready for lunch!

Let me know if you make these in the comments below and as always tag me on Instagram so I can see!

Print

No Bake Cinnamon Crunch Bars

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 12 bars

Author Shannon Sargent

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup crushed pretzels make sure to measure the crushed not whole pretzels
• 1 cup Lindsay cinnamon almond butter
• 1 cup raw honey
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• dash of kosher salt

Instructions

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, whisk together almond butter, honey and coconut oil until smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Pour almond butter mixture over dry mix and stir until well combined.
4. Line a 9 x 13 baking sheet with parchment paper. Press mix evenly into pan. I like to use plastic baggie over my hands for this.
5. Place in the refrigerator or freezer for 30 minutes to one hour to set. 
6. Remove from freezer and gently cut into bars. 
7. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week. Enjoy!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Lindsay products, the opinions and text are all mine.