I've been making Ellie Krieger's Easy Healthy Energy Bars for years. The recipe is from her first cookbook, The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life (affiliate link), which dates back to 2008.
Sweetened with maple syrup and brimming with oats, nuts, seeds and a variety of dried fruit, these bars bake up delicious, soft and chewy. I was hooked after the first batch. Everyone I have made them for has loved these. Try them once and I think you'll want to make them again, and again, too.
Better than any store-bought energy bars, these are great for breakfast-on-the-go, a mid-morning snack or post workout treat.
Even though store-bought bars can be delicious and convenient, many have as much sugar as a candy bar.
So, why not make them yourself? It's really easy to do and most always tastes better when it's homemade.
Weight Watchers Friendly Healthy Energy Bars
How Many Calories and WW Points in these Energy Bars?
According to my calculations, each energy bar has 133 calories and:
5 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
4 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
How do you make healthy fruit, nut and seed bars?
These easy healthy energy bars are easy to make provided you have a food processor (affiliate link). Just combine your ingredients, give them a quick blitz and press them into a pan.
After a short bake and cool, they are ready to cut into bars and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Don't overbake or they can get dry.
- Use whatever combination of dried fruit and nuts that you like best.
- I sometimes add a mashed banana or ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce for a little extra moisture.
- If you have a hard time with self control, like me, you'll be glad to know that these freeze well. I like to wrap individual bars in plastic wrap, place them in a zipper lock bag and toss them in the freezer. Then I pull them out one at a time so I'm not tempted to overindulge.
WW Easy to Make Energy Bars (5 Freestyle SmartPoints)
Recipe Variations
These bars can be modified in lots of ways depending on the nuts, seeds and dried fruit you like best, and have on hand:
Different Nuts
Substitute walnuts, peanuts, pecans, for the almonds.
Different Seeds
Substitute sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds or a combination.
Different Fruit
Dried plums, pineapple, apples, mango, blueberries, cherries, etc.
Gluten-Free
Substitute ground flax for the wheat germ and gluten free flour (affiliate link) for the whole wheat.
No Maple Syrup
Substitute honey or brown rice syrup.
No Wheat Germ
Substitute ground flaxseed.
Spicier
In addition to the cinnamon, add some dried ground ginger and/or cloves.
Vegan
Substitute ½ cup applesauce for the eggs and PB2 (affiliate link) for the dried milk powder.
No Dried Milk
Substitute protein powder or PB2 (affiliate link) or skip it altogether.
Additions
Unsweetened applesauce, mashed bananas, vanilla.
Are You Ready To Firmly Plant Yourself
On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?
If you like these healthy energy bars, be sure to check out my other easy, healthy Weight Watchers friendly recipes including Low-Fat Cranberry Bars, Oprah's Healthy Apricot Oat Bars, Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bars, Nigella's Breakfast Bars and Chocolate-Topped Peanut Butter Oat Bars
If you've made these Energy Snack Bars, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Ellie's Easy Healthy Energy Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup shelled sunflower seeds
- ½ cup toasted wheat germ
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup dried apricots
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup dried pitted dates
- ½ cup raw almonds
- ½ cup non-fat dry milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place oats, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, flour, dried fruit, almonds, dry milk, and cinnamon in a food processor (affiliate link) and pulse until everything is roughly chopped.
- Add maple syrup and eggs and pulse until everything is well blended.
- Spread the thick batter evenly into the prepared pan. If you find the batter sticky you can press it into the pan with your slightly wet hands.
- Bake until lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack on for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Cut bars into 20 bars.
- Once they are completely cool, you can store these fruity, nutty, chewy, healthy granola bars in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Or wrap them individually and store them in the freezer for a quick grab and go breakfast or snack.
Recipe Notes
Source: The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life (affiliate link) by Ellie Krieger
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
This video demonstrates how easy it is to make your own low calorie granola oat bars at home:
More Weight Watchers Energy Bar Recipes
- Homemade KIND Bars (TheYummyLife)
- Banana Split Power Bars (SkinnyTaste)
- Energy Bars (SlenderKitchen)
- Banana Oat Energy Bites (RecipeDiaries)
- Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Bars (SnackGirl)
- Morning Maple Cranberry Pecan Oat Bars (SkinnyTaste)
- Salted Turtle Energy Bites (OrganizeYouselfSkinny)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Kristal Melbye
When do we add the dried fruit?
Martha McKinnon
In step 2 with the seeds, nuts, flours, etc. ~Martha