GRANOLA BARS- CLEAN EATING

I love these granola bars, especially with the flavor of the tart dried berries (dried cherries are my favorite) and toasted coconut. They are crunchy and crumbly so I wrap them in parchment paper pockets that way I can eat them in the car when I am in a hurry and not make a huge mess. I simply cut a long strip of parchment, fold up the bottom edge over the bar and roll the paper around the bar, then tape the edge of the paper down and store all of them wrapped and ready to go in an air tight container.

 

Granola Bars- Clean Eating
Adapted from loosely from Ina Garten and smittenkitchen

Makes 12 to 16 granola bars

 

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ or 1/2 cup chia seeds
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cup dried fruit (dates, apricots, raisins, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, etc)

 

Note: I used dried cherries, blueberries, cranberries and chia seeds. This recipe is forgiving, like most granola recipes, use what you like and what you have on hand.

 

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9 by 13-inch or an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

 

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ or chia seeds. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

 

Stir the honey, vanilla and salt together in a bowl. Add the warm toasted oatmeal mixture, and stir until it is well coated, add the dried fruit.

Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish...

and press it down until the mixture is evenly pressed into the pan. This is an important step, make sure the mixture is packed as tightly as possible, otherwise the bar will fall apart.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown.

Cool for 2 to 3 hours before cutting into bars.

All those crumbles left from cutting the bars created a perfect bowl of granola for breakfast tomorrow.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or store in the freezer for a few months.


There were about ten does on our front hill this evening...

so I decided to run outside to the side of my house and sneak up on them to get some pictures. I was barefoot (I usually am), the ground was cold and a little wet. I was hopping from stone to stone on a path I have on the side of the house to avoid any mud and right when I turned the corner of the house I almost stepped directly on a Broad-winged Hawk eating a starling. I froze. I was about 5 inches away from him...he held his ground, so did I. Finally, he hopped backwards and flew up to a limb about 4 feet above me, all the while holding onto the dead bird.

 At least I didn't disturb the deer's dinner...

 

PRINTABLE RECIPE