Healthy Homemade Granola Bites

For book club I really wanted to make something. I also wanted to make some healthy and filling snacks that I could easily shove in my mouth while entertaining a 3 month old.

I googled granola bar recipes and came across a tasty-sounding one from Oh She Glows.

(You can find the original recipe here)

I changed it up a bit as I didn't want any nuts and didn't have any seeds. 

So here's how to make my Oh She Glows inspired granola bites

• Start by dehydrating some fruit. I used strawberries and pineapple because I had them on hand and like the way they taste dehydrated. Thinly slice your fruit and put them on parchment paper, or tinfoil, or a silicone mat and bake in your oven at the lowest setting (mine was at 170 degrees) for about hours.
• On another baking sheet, toast 2 cups rolled oats in the oven at 350 for about 10 mins.
• In a bowl, mash 3 bananas (heat them in the microwave first for about 30 seconds for easier mashing) together with 1 tsp vanilla extract. 
• Stir in the toasted oats and chopped dried fruit (plus whatever else you want to add - nuts, seeds, etc) plus 1 tsp cinnamon.
• Spoon mixture into a pan lined with parchment paper and press down to make the surface as even as possible. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 mins until firm and slightly golden along the edges. 
• Let cool for 10 mins then remove from pan. Allow bars to cool for at least another 10 mins in the freezer (or longer in the fridge) before cutting into bites or bars.

(Based on the recipe above, sans nuts and seeds, and cut into 25 bites, each bite is about 42 calories)   

The bites are tasty but if you like them a bit sweeter brush the bites with a bit of maple syrup.