Simple Sunflower Bars

After really enjoying the taste of my Ridiculously Easy Peanut and Almond Cranberry White Chocolate Oat Bars, I decided to give a bar recipe with sunflower butter and seeds a try.  Great for those with nut allergies!

Ingredients:

1 cup oats (old fashioned, not quick)(*use a gluten-free oats such as Bob's Red Mill if you are on a gluten-free diet)
½ cup creamy sunflower butter (I got mine at Trader Joes)
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup sunflower seeds

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Wax or parchment paper

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, combine the maple syrup, sunflower butter, vanilla extract and mix well.  Stir in the oats and sunflower seeds and mix some more. Press mixture into an 8 by 8 inch pan. (Lining the pan with a large rectangular piece of parchment paper, placing the mixture on one side and then folding the paper over to press down works nicely since the dough is so sticky.) Chill in the fridge for an hour or more (if you can wait that long!) and cut into squares and serve. Store in the fridge.

Makes 16 squares

Serving size: 1/16th of recipe  Calories 90 Protein 3 g Carb 8 g Fiber 2 g Sugars 3 g Fat 5 g Saturated fat <1 g Sodium 40 mg