These {gluten free} granola bars are filled with apple chips and lots of cinnamon for a delicious fall snack. A great, healthy way to fuel your workout or a good snack on the go!

The other day I realized something. I must spend literally 80%+ of my day thinking about my workout or thinking about food. Wake up…what’s for breakfast? 20 minutes after breakfast..oooh! coffee time! (best time of the day). Lunch…Hmmm, well if it’s an early enough lunch, I can afford to go big with the meal and not be too sluggish for crossfit at 5pm. If it’s a later lunch however, I want to be smart with my decisions and probably avoid dairy. 4pm? Ok, what am I going to eat to get my blood sugar up and provide some fuel for this upcoming workout? 6:30pm…refuel time! What’s a good mix of protein and carbs to replace what just got left on the box floor (almost literally) but not ruin my appetite for dinner? Dinner…eat all the things!

Then there’s the constant toying with dairy intake. I love it, I eat it, but I really try and keep it in check because of one word: bloating. Although, that whole milk in my coffee and that greek yogurt or ricotta breakfast will always come out ahead in that debate. And most recently, there’s the connection I’ve made between grains/gluten and the eczema I’ve had literally all my life. Probably TMI, but 30 years of red, itchy armpits is getting old. Like seriously old. I’m not sure if I should feel relieved that I’ve finally figured it out or pathetic that it took me 30+ years.

Needless to say, nutrition and exercise are extremely important to me. Luckily, I don’t have any diseases (like Celiac) forcing me down a specific dietary path, but I’ve done my fair share of experimenting to know what foods make me feel best, what foods allow me to perform best (at Crossfit and running, get your mind out of the gutter) and what foods make me happy. All things that make up a healthy living. Sometimes this means enjoying half of a cherry pie in 3 days (yes, that happened this week after an intense craving) and other times this means cutting back my grain & gluten intake to deal with an eczema flare up or to just kind of “detox” (I’m not saying that literally to imply grains are toxic because I truly don’t think they are to most) my body. And when I’m in one of those “cut back on grains” mode, the hardest thing for me becomes snacks.

So let’s start with these granola bars. They were my go-to snack all last week before working out and they happen to be gluten free. They’re also full of apples and cinnamon and perfect for fall. Celiac, gluten sensitive, or none of the above…dig in!

For the full recipe and ingredients click here.

*This post was originally published on Gina’s blog, Running to the Kitchen. For more from Gina, visit www.runningtothekitchen.com