Healthy Fig Granola Bars

Hello dear person.

How are you today? Truly, how are you feeling?

Have you checked in with yourself lately? Seen deep down how you are really feeling?

I’m tired. Not just physically because I don’t sleep well when my husband is away working nights. My chats with him in the evenings, even when he’s away, calm and relax me from the day and without him, I’m restless every evening and essentially pace from one room to another until it’s well into the night. When he works nights, I only get to talk to him for about a cumulative 4 hours over 15 days. It’s brutal.

But my tiredness runs deeper than that. My soul is tired.

I think we’re all just a little emotionally battered and weary at this point.

But I have optimism in spades more than I did before.

I am looking so forward to the first time my parents can visit and squish their grandbabies.

I can’t wait to see friends and just be in each other’s company again.

I want the freedom of running into a store for one or two items and not feeling guilty.

I am holding onto all hope for the day when my daughter’s childhood can return to its previously carefree state.

Soon.

I am holding onto all hope for “soon.”

In the meantime, I’ve started a new hobby of sorts: Live cooking videos on my Facebook page! It has been a lot of fun and such a wonderful way to be able to share what it is I love to do. This post actually originates from one such video and if you’d like to see these bars made in action, the link is here.

They’re filmed completely unscripted with all the mess-ups, baby chatter, and dancing done on the fly. This recipe was even improvised during recording and it made them better than ever!

Healthy Fig Granola Bars Makes 8-12

4 oz. (7-8 or 12-14, depending on the size of fig— see the video above for sizing)
1 cup oats
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon (zest it first!)

Directions

1.) Preheat the oven to 375F. Prepare an 8x8 glass baking dish with parchment paper.
2.) Blend everything in a food processor.
3.) Press the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 15 minutes.
4.) Let cool on a cooling rack and cut into 8 or 12 slices (I go big with 8). Enjoy with your favourite tea.

And that’s that. They’re fast and simple and oh-my-goodness, the lemon flavour is amazing. I think these are my favourite granola bars yet. I can’t believe I haven’t made them in so long— that won’t happen again!