Happy national granola bar day! To celebrate I wanted to create a vegan super healthy fruit and nuts bar, but not only that. I also came up with a super simple juice recipe that can be made at home without a juicer! Juicers are very expensive and I'm not entirely sure I have fully committed to drinking homemade juice regulary. With the help from hotforfoodblog.com, I have found out you can make your own juice by using a good blender & straining the juice through 3 to 4 layers of cheesecloth. It works really well! This juice recipe is refreshing and sweet. The beautiful thing about juicing is you can throw whatever you so please in there. Feel free to get those creative juices flowing. I hope you enjoy this healthy kick today. I know I am!

Ingredients:

// Bar //

Makes 5 bars

1/2 cup of raw pecans
1/2 cup of raw walnuts
1/4 cup of raw hazelnuts
1/8 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup of old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon of cocoa nibs
3 tablespoons of agave nectar
3 tablespoons of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of coconut oil
1/4 cup of organic frozen Balaton cherries

// Juice //

Makes 4 cups

1 cup of ice
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of organic blueberries
1/2 cup of organic strawberries
1/3 of a English cucumber (1/4 cup)
3 lemon slices
1 cup of organic spinach
1/4 cup of frozen organic Balaton cherries

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375'F. Line a 9x9 square tin with parchment paper.
In a medium size pan over medium heat, toast the pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and hazelnuts until they begin to smell fragrant. If they look like they are starting to get too brown, remove them from the heat.
In a small sauce pot over high heat combine the maple syrup, agave, water, coconut oil, and cherries. Once the mixture begins to boil and the cherries pop, you can pull it off the burner.
Add the oats, toasted nuts, cherry mixture, and cocoa nibs to a food processor. Pulse the bars until they begin to stick together.
Pour the bars into the pan and press into one half of the pan. You can always double this recipe and make a full 9x9 pan.
Bake the bars in the oven for 20 minutes. Pull out and allow to cool before cutting and serving. Store in a air tight container for up to 5 days.
Throw all the ingredients for the juice in a blender. You can mostly throw the skin of everything in, but I do prefer to make sure everything is extra clean and leaves are cut off. Citrus fruit skins don't really affect the flavor too much.
You want to blend the ingredients until it is very well liquefied, not pureed, liquefied.
Using cheesecloth that is layered 3 times and working in batches, squeeze firmly, not hard, so that the juice drips out of the cheesecloth into a large bowl. Your goal is to get rid of pulp. The pulp can be rinsed down the drain and the cheesecloth can be rinsed and reused. Pour the juice in a glass and enjoy!