Time flies faster than the wink of an eye.

My 3 nieces are currently between the ages of newbie to preschool; they’re in the cute/not-cute stage of munching and then tossing their food on the ground.

It honestly doesn’t seem that long ago since my own 3 boys had me plucking cereal from the floor beneath their baby chairs. (Maybe I didn’t actually pluck anything because…Dog.)

Thirteen years later, with boys taller than me in tow, we’re still diving for that iconic O-shaped cereal.  But not in the same way, because we’ve gotten a bit more progressive with it. Maybe even cutting-edge, as far as dry cereal is concerned.

Nowadays we plunge into a slightly more stagy cereal in bar form. Yet, it manages to stay humble with just 5 simple ingredients.

We noted these are totally nut-free and gluten-free cereal protein bars, right? Because all our friends who can’t dig nuts nor gluten can still indulge in these healthy yummies…

These Nut-Free, Gluten-Free Cereal Protein bars are:

• Loaded with nutritious seeds and packed with protein
• Studded with dried fruit of your choice for fiber and sweetness
• Sweetened with raw honey
• Super duper easy, with only 5 ingredients and no baking invovled

These Nut-Free, Gluten-Free Cereal Protein Bars are based off our original Peanut Butter Honey Cereal Bars. Those are always an instant hit among PB & honey lovers. But we didn’t want our non-peanut eating friends to miss out, so we made this nut-free version that can easily be shared with everyone.

Side note: be sure to whisk while mixture heats, and not longer than 30-60 seconds. Sometimes people let the mixture heat too long, which messes with the sticky factor. You want it to stick and stay stuck. So go easy on the heat. You should end up with bars that wouldn’t dare to crumble on ya.

Here’s to finger foods that follow you from 1 to 100.

Enjoy.

You might love this Gluten-Free Appetizer:

Nut-Free, Gluten-Free Cereal Protein Bars

5 from 2 ratings

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These Nut-Free, Gluten-Free Cereal Protein Bars use only 5 natural ingredients. They're no-bake, super easy, and extremely tasty. Sweetened with pure honey, these healthy bars are perfect for breakfast, snack, or pre/post workout fuel.

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 1 min

Total Time: 6 mins

Servings: 12

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• 4 cups of toasted oats cereal, gluten-free brand
• ½ cup dried berries, cranberries, blueberries, etc.
• 1 cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds
• ⅔ cup pure raw honey, a bit more if needed
• ½ - ⅔ cup* creamy sunflower butter, I use SunButter

Instructions

• Lightly grease an 8 inch square pan and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine cereal, dried berries, and sunflower seeds. Mix well.
• In a pot over medium heat, use a hand whisk to constantly stir honey and sunflower butter until completely smooth and fully incorporated, about 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat as soon as mixture turns smooth and "silky." It should not boil/be overcooked, or else the mixture may "seize" and lose its ability to stick well. Let mixture cool 3-5 min.
• Pour honey mixture over the dry cereal mixture, tossing to coat really well.
• Press mixture firmly into prepared pan. You'll need to really press hard so mixture adheres; be sure to firmly press down the sides and corners also. Cover and chill in fridge several hours before cutting into bars.

Notes

*I use 1/2 cup creamy sunflower butter, but if your cereal mixture needs more to stick, you can use 2/3 cup

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Course: Breakfast, Snack

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