Healthy Granola Bar Recipe!

Okay since I've gotten SO many request for the recipe, here it is you guys.  These things really are delicious and it is MUCH cheaper than buying a box of granola bars at the store. 

Ingredients:


• 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats

• 2 tbsp of your favorite “chaser”: such as millet, flax seed, flax seed meal, wheat germ, etc. (I use 1 tbsp of wheat germ and 1 tbsp of ground flax seed in mine)

• 1/4 cup of Soy Protein powder (optional, but gives nutritional boost, I use the vanilla flavor)

• 1/2 cup Creamy Natural Peanut Butter (I use organic, you can also use almond or cashew butter for a different flavor if you're not a peanut fan)

• 1/2 cup Honey (mix it up by using 1/4 cup of organic Honey and 1/4 cup of organic Blue Agave syrup)

• 1 tbsp Brown Sugar (optional, I don’t need it the honey and agave are REALLY sweet enough)

• 1/2 cup of your favorite “additives”: sunflower seeds, raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, figs, almonds, pecans, whatever your heart desires.  In my last batch I used cranberries and pecans, but I've done dried apricots with walnuts, carob (vegan chocolate) chips and dried cherries...the possibilities are ENDLESS

• 1 tsp salt (optional, don’t use if you are using salted nut-butter or salted nuts already)

Preheat your oven to 400F. Prepare a small saucepan with the honey, peanut butter, and brown sugar (if using). Take this time to get out a 9×9 baking dish and line with parchment paper or aluminum foil.  (I have issues with parchment paper so foil works better for me!) Also set out a cooling rack. Spread the oats (and chaser and additives if needing toasting, such as millet, wheat germ, or any type of nuts) onto a deep dish baking pan or cookie sheet. Place pan into oven. Turn the saucepan onto low to med-low heat. You want the mixture to get warm and combine smoothly, but be careful not to burn or simmer. You know your stovetop best to know what setting will work to accomplish this.

While the oats are toasting, prepare the additives that aren't toasting like the dried fruit into a medium sized mixing bowl and coat with protein powder (if using). Coating the additives with the protein powder allows them to settle more evenly into the mix.  Plus the added protein is great and you aren't worrying about too many extra calories!

Be sure to watch the oats carefully, they don’t taste good when they get burnt. Take out of oven when they are a golden brown. This takes about 5-10 minutes for me, usually around 7 minutes. When oats are done, carefully add to the medium bowl with the additives. Then drizzle in the nut-butter/honey mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon. This will take a bit of muscle work, but it is possible to combine it all together.

Plop the mixture into the baking dish lined with parchment paper and spread evenly into baking dish. The bars are around 1/4″ in depth when spread correctly. Place the pan on the baking rack and allow the bars to cool completely.  After they have cooled down, pull the paper/foil up to remove your square of bars from the pan.  Then just score the granola bars so you get as even a cut as you can and cut on a hard flat surface.  Cut the bars apart and place into individual snack size Ziplocs.  Store them in the fridge for quick and easy snacks all week long!  Makes 18 granola bars.

Nutrition (Approximate.  You will add more calories with sweetened fruit or chocolate of course):

• 137 cal

• 4 g fat

• 22 g carb

• 2 g fiber

• 5 g protein (this is higher depending on what type of protein powder you use)

Enjoy!  Let me know how they turn out!!!