If you are on a health journey but have a sweet tooth, try this healthy walnut chia snack bar recipe with cranberries and oats. Compared to store-bought snack bars, these nutty sweet treats are not only pleasantly filling, but also high in nutritional value. I will go over the health and nutritional benefits of walnuts below.
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH AND NUTRITION BENEFITS OF WALNUTS?
Incorporating walnuts into your diet can contribute to good overall health and well-being, making them a delicious and nutritious choice for snacking, cooking, and baking.
Contain Vital Vitamins and Minerals: Walnuts are a good source of vital vitamins and minerals such as manganese, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamin B6. They also contain magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium, essential for maintaining strong healthy bones.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND HEART HEALTH
HEALTHY BRAIN
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
WALNUT vs. THYROID MEDICATION
WebMD states that while walnuts are a good source of nutrition, we should exercise caution while consuming walnuts and walnut oils if taking certain thyroid medications because of potential drug-nutrient interactions.
GoodRx Health explained that levothyroxine, a drug used to treat hypothyroidism, can interact with walnuts. When walnuts are consumed close to the time of taking the drug, they can bond to it [reducing its effectiveness].
They suggests that we eat walnuts 60 minutes before or 4 hours after taking Levothyroxine. Always consult with your healthcare provider about any potential drug-nutrient and drug-drug interactions.
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Healthy Walnut Chia Snack Bar Recipe With Cranberries And Oats.
Here are all the ingredients you will need.
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Healthy Walnut Chia Snack Bar Recipe With Cranberries and Oats
Equipment
- 11 x 7 Inch Pyrex Baking Tray
- Oven
- Hand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatula
- Wooden Spoon
- Zester
- Whisk
Ingredients
Snack Bar Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cups All-purpose Flour
- ½ tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 cup Rolled Oats
- 3 cups Walnuts
- 1½ cups Dried Cranberries
- 3 tbsp. Chia Seeds
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1 tsp. Salt
Wet Ingredients Of Snack Bars
- 1 cup Maple Yogurt
- 3 tsp. Zest of 1 medium Navel Orange
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter (8 ounces)
- 1½ tsps. Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Vanilla Almond Milk
- 2 medium Eggs
- 1 can Oil Spray
Instructions
- Turn on the oven to 350 ℉
Let's Cream Butter and Sugar
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth and fluffy. You can use any unsalted butter, however, I used Vermont Cultured Butter for a fuller flavor.
Combine Dry Ingredients
- In a mixing bowl, use a whisk or fork to thoroughly mix all dry ingredients: flour, rolled oats, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon powder.
- Combine the creamed butter-sugar mixture with eggs, maple yogurt, chia seeds, orange zest, vanilla almond milk, and vanilla extract using a hand mixer on low speed for 2 minutes. The batter may look a bit curd, but it's ok.
- This is the stage in which you combine the powerhouse chia seeds with the creamed butter and egg mixture. Incorporate the chia seeds with a hand mixer on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet components and mix thoroughly with a hand mixer. Mixing the walnut and cranberry into the flour usually prevents them from sinking to the bottom of a cake mixture. However, because this batter is thicker, the nuts will remain suspended throughout the batter.If you like a less dense snack bar, use 2 teaspoons of baking powder instead.
- Grease the baking pan with non-stick oil spray making sure you grease the inner sides. This healthy walnutty snack bar recipe was made in a rectangular Pyrex glass pan. However, you may use a metal baking pan with the same dimensions.
- Pour the walnutty chia snack bar batter into the baking pan. This is optional, but before baking, you may top the raw snack bar mixture with cracked pieces of walnuts, cranberries, and sesame seeds.
- Carefully set the Pyrex pan filled with batter in the preheated oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a knife or bamboo skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool before cutting into squares/bars and serving. This recipe makes around ten to twelve snack bars.
How Do I Store the Walnutty Chia Snack Bars with Oats and Cranberries?
- Bars can be wrapped in grease paper and refrigerated for up to 1 to 2 weeks. Wrap each healthy walnut chia snack bar in grease paper and hand towels, place in a zip lock bag, and freeze for up to three months.After taking the snack bars from the freezer, place in the refrigerator to defrost overnight. You can reheat snack bars in an air fryer, oven, or microwave for a brief time to remove the chill. Enjoy as a breakfast or snack item.
What Is A Good Way To Enjoy Walnutty Chia Snack Bar?
- In addition to eating them as a snack or breakfast on the run, you may cut them into granola bite-sized cubes and toast them in an air fryer or oven. Add them to yogurt for another crunchy and flavorful snack option.
Video
I would love to know what you think. Please leave a comment and star rating. What is your favorite hot cereal?
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Ohhh!!
A healthy snack, this looks delicious! I will try this!
O healthy snack!! it is, Lauren. Hope you get to try my snack bar.
I try to avoid all-purpose flour in my diet. Do you think you could use almond flour instead?
I am not sure if almond flour will work. I will guess based my experience with baking with coconut or cassava flour that they may be better alternatives. But try the almond flour and let me know how it turned out.
I will make for a snack but will switch up a little based on what’s in the pantry
Ok, cool. Glad you are inspired, Norisha
thanks for sharing
Thank you, Umer
I like this type of healthy smacks. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Simplicity
This is the perfect snack for the lunch box or kid’s lunch box. Super yummy and easy!
Thank you, Marie.
Thank you Marie-Pierre.
You got me with the chia seeds! I always love finding healthy snack recipes that include chia seeds! I have pinned this Walnut Chia snack bar recipe so I can make them soon!
Enjoy when you make your walnut chia snack bars. You are going to love them.
Love the nutritional info – sounds really good – great for a summer snack!
Appreciate the comment and star rating, Morgan.
Thank you, Morgan.
This is not just a healthy snack but so delicious too. I love anything with chia seeds and the cranberries and oats make it even more appealing. A great snack idea!
Thank you, Lisa. Hope you get to make my walnut chia snack bar some day.
Appreciate you, Lisa.
This sounds so good! I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you, Courtney. Enjoy you walnut cis snack bars.
Thank you Courtney
I love a good oat bar like this as they are filling, and can be a healthier way to enjoy a bit of a sweet treat. This recipe has so many great elements to it, the chia seeds are a super addition to this!
Thank you, Molly.
Can you substitute walnuts for almonds or cashews? These
Look fab but prefer other nuts.
Thanks for dropping by Roisin. I have made this with cashew in the past. If you are going to use almonds, you may want to the sliced ones. Enjoy when you make it and let me know how it turned out.
Love these healthy walnut chia seed snack bars! Cranberry and oat is such a delicious combination. A great grab-and-go snack or something slightly sweet to balance out your work lunchbox. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Kevin!
Thank you, Jenna.
Do I have a sweet tooth? Absolutely!
I love the combination of cranberries with chia seeds, it sounds really good and healthy. As always, thank you for highlighting the benefits of the ingredients used, Kevin. My friend has an air fryer and loves recipes like this, so I think I’ll ask her to make some for me! Thanks for sharing!
Thank You Ginger, hope both of you enjoy my snack bars when you make them
It is good to know that walnuts are beneficial. I try and eat them often.
Walnuts is a super nut, Glad you were inspired to eat more of them.
This was so good. We loved the walnuts!