Delicious and Nutritious Granola Bars

Today was granola bar making day at my house.  Don’t be confused, it does not take all day, but it does come at least once a week.  My husband takes his lunch to work every day and was still stopping at McDonald’s on a fairly regular basis.  As it turns out, he wasn’t taking enough to eat each day and was becoming EXTREMELY hungry before getting home in the evening.  So in an effort to save my husband from heart disease and colon cancer (as well as save my money from disappearing), I went in search of a recipe to curtail his hunger.  I stumbled upon a recipe for granola bars on the Parents.com website and have adapted it for some increased health benefits and sweet tooth quenching.  So here it is:

Super Great Granola Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup granola (I buy it in bulk, but you could make your own)
• 1 cup rolled oats (today I used 7-grain cereal)
• 1/4 cup spelt flour (just to mix things up from the typical wheat flour)
• 1/4 cup flax meal (for the Omega 3’s; I buy whole flax and grind it up because it’s cheaper)
• 1 cup dried fruit, finely chopped (I use a mixture of raisins from the bulk section because they don’t have any added sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup grape seed oil (used for its high content of polyunsaturated fat, Vitamin E, and Omega 6)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Splash of pure vanilla extract
• Dark chocolate chips (dark chocolate is said to have antioxidant effects, I just add however many chips looks right)

Steps

• Heat oven to 325 degrees
• Line 8×8 pan with foil, coat with oil (you might be able to not use foil, but I haven’t been brave enough to try)
• Stir granola, oats, flour, meal, and fruit
• Whisk egg, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla
• Mix dry and wet ingredients, add chocolate chips to your preference
• Press into pan with your hands
• Bake 30 minutes, or until browned
• Cool on rack and then cut into squares

This recipe is a great afternoon snack when you just need a quick pick-me-up or are having a crazy craving for sweets.  Feel free to be creative with your ingredients and share your adaptations with us.

Enjoy!

***Weight Watchers Update***

My mom made a few tweaks to this recipe and found that a serving (approx. 1″x1″ square) is 4 points.  Here are the changes:

• Substitute almond butter for grapeseed oil
• Kind Healthy Grains Vanilla Blueberry granola
• 4 tbs dark chocolate chips