I'll talk a little more about the changes I want to make in our home in another post.
However, making more homemade healthy snacks for the kids is one thing I'd like to do more often. (not that they eat all boxed, unhealthy food or something, but I haven't went out of my way to make homemade food everyday for their snacks.)
I'd like to be a little more intentional about our health and foods we're putting in our body.
Now...that being said....these aren't the most healthy granola bars you can find, but they are healthy (no preservatives!) and they DO taste good. You can also switch out some of the ingredients to make it as healthy as you would like to! :) It's a pretty easy, flexible recipe to make to your liking.
I just used what I had on hand this time, so I used dried cherries instead of apricots. (although I think apricots would be good too! :) I also think they were a little too sweet for me, so next time I'll cut out the brown sugar completely. They were super yummy though and very filling! A great, healthy snack to give the kids! (and yourself! :) Enjoy!
Granola Bars
1 3/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons almond butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups crushed cereal (whatever you have on hand)
3/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Line an 11x8-inch baking dish (you could probably sub an 8x8-inch dish) with foil; coat foil with cooking spray.
Place oats, coconut and almonds on a large cookie sheet. Bake 5 minutes or until light golden brown and fragrant.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter, almond butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and ginger until well combined; stir in oat-coconut-almond mixture, cereal and apricot until well combined. Press mixture into prepared dish. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant.
Cool completely before lifting foil out of pan and slicing into bars. (I would recommend refrigerating them a while for easier slicing.) Melt chocolate chips in a small ziploc bag, in the microwave, for about 1 minute, or until melted and smooth. Pipe melted chocolate onto bars and allow to dry.
Makes 12 large bars (you could cut them smaller and get more)
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons almond butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups crushed cereal (whatever you have on hand)
3/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Line an 11x8-inch baking dish (you could probably sub an 8x8-inch dish) with foil; coat foil with cooking spray.
Place oats, coconut and almonds on a large cookie sheet. Bake 5 minutes or until light golden brown and fragrant.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter, almond butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and ginger until well combined; stir in oat-coconut-almond mixture, cereal and apricot until well combined. Press mixture into prepared dish. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant.
Cool completely before lifting foil out of pan and slicing into bars. (I would recommend refrigerating them a while for easier slicing.) Melt chocolate chips in a small ziploc bag, in the microwave, for about 1 minute, or until melted and smooth. Pipe melted chocolate onto bars and allow to dry.
Makes 12 large bars (you could cut them smaller and get more)
These look yummy! I think I could easily make these Arawak treat by leaving out brown sugar and use the dehydrator instead of oven. Thanks for sharing this. If I remember I will email you another quick, easy, and yummy snack recipe!
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