peanut butter cereal bars

*make the cereal mix:

3 cups Special K or other crunchy rice cereal
3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup chia seeds, coarsely ground in the coffee grinder
1/2 cup protein powder (I used that chocolate whey protein)

*mix the above ingredients in a big bowl
*then put the below ingredients in a saucepan:

2 cups creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup Karo light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

*set the stove to low-medium and heat while stirring to combine
*once everything is melted and well combined, turn off the heat and pour it over the cereal mix
*use the rubber spatula to fold everything together, try not to crush the cereal too much
*make sure everything is mixed thoroughly

*line a large rectangular metal cake pan with parchment paper (no need to grease it)
*dump the stuff on top of the parchment and spread it out evenly with the spatula
*it might also help to put another sheet of parchment on top and press the mix with your hands once it's cool enough to handle

*let it cool at room temperature
*once it's cool enough, pull it out by lifting the parchment
*set it on a cutting board and cut it into small rectangle/square pieces
*put the pieces in the fridge so they keep for a while