When you think about granola bars, if you are like me you think healthy snack. Unfortunately, most granola bars that you buy at the store are no better than a candy bar with a ton of sugars and chemicals. So I thought, “I am going to make my own healthy snack!” There are a million variations you can do depending on what you like, but here was my initial recipe. I used things I happened to have on hand, and of course I considered my company. You don’t want to make something they will not enjoy. Otherwise it’s back to the store for those unhealthy store bought versions.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup salted sunflower seeds
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/4 cup ground flax plus some extra
- 1/4 cup wheat germ plus some extra
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup honey
Method:
Prepare the baking dish by lining with wax paper and sprinkling a small amount of wheat germ and/or ground flax into the bottom of the baking dish, making sure coverage is even. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour mixture into baking dish on top of wheat germ/ground flax and press flat. Sprinkle another thin, even layer of wheat germ and/or ground flax on top of the mixture. (This makes the bars less sticky when handled.) Cover with Saran Wrap and refrigerate so bars will harden slightly. After an hour or more, remove from refrigerator and cut into bars with sharp knife. Wrap each bar individually in Saran Wrap and refrigerate again until ready to eat.
Variations:
- In lieu of or in addition to almonds, use a mixture of nuts of your choice such as peanuts, macadamias, hazelnuts, or cashews, sliced or crushed.
- Lightly toast grains and nuts prior to mixing with the honey. You can do this easily by placing mixture in a thin layer on baking sheet and baking in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
- Use dried fruit such as raisins, cherries, prunes, dates, figs, pineapple, mango, papaya, blueberries and/or strawberries cut up into small pieces.
- Use shredded coconut.
- Mix some dark chocolate chips into the bars.
- Use seeds of your choice in addition to or in lieu of sunflower seeds, such as sesame or pumpkin.
Notes:
- To make this treat as healthy as possible, users many raw ingredients as possible rather than buying fried or roasted nuts and see that use a lot of extra unhealthy oils to prepare them.
- Use a smaller baking dish for thicker bars and a larger baking dish for thinner bars.