Back at it....with Cinnamon Currant Protein Bars!

Excuse my absence. I know, excuses will likely go in one ear and out the other. So I'll refrain from concocting any creative reasons to beg for your pardon of my slacking off. You're welcome :)

So. I'm staying at my friend @goldiesquats place, watching her little cuddle bug, Tansy. Being the meal prep fanatic that I am, I wanted to make sure I brought my full arsenal of goods, so I wouldn't have to be all up in her kitchen this week. I did my typical slow cooker chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, and broccoli. But I didn't want to keep raiding the local GNC for more and more quest bars (slight addict)....so I thought I'd give a go at making something fun to bring for myself. I recently got some Cellucor Cinnamon Swirl protein....and it is gooooood. I was reminded of loving some cinnamon raisin toast as a kiddo, so I thought I'd create some cinnamon raisin protein bars. The currants came about because I pictured my bars being fairly small, and imagined the raising taking over the whole bar. So...solution? Mini raisins :)

Here we go:

1 cup raw cashew pieces (got them from whole foods, they're cheaper than whole cashews)
3/4 cup organic oats
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3 scoops Cellucor Cinnamon Swirl protein (or whatever you want, really)
1/4 cup dried currants
1 1/3 cup coconut almond milk (I use blue diamond, but do whatever kind of milk you'd like)
*optional dash of cinnamon if you want!

Cashew pieces go in the vitamix and get chopped pretty finely. Don't go crazy and butter it, just make it like a fairly fine cashew meal. Next, grind up your oats in the vitamix as well. Add all dry ingredients to a big bowl and mix. Then, add in the milk and stir. The mixture should be really sticky. Then, lay out the dough/batter on a parchment lined baking pan, and spread until it is maybe 1/2 inch thick. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown, and your big bar is pretty firm. Remove from oven, let cool on a rack for a few minutes, then cut into whatever shapes/sizes you want! Mine made about 12 bars that were about the same size as a quest bar. Yummo.