Most days we need a pick me up in the afternoon. School is over. Chores are done. Mom is trying to work on dinner that won't be until 6 when dad arrives home.
What shall we eat? When I have the ability to shop at Trader Joe's, I buy bars there. They are inexpensive and unfortunately don't last very long in this house. We go through a box a day.
So when I take the time I make my own granola bars. These are similiar to CLIF bars and go over well here.
Granola Bars (or I wish I was a CLIF Bar)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup chocolate chips (can be omitted)
1/2 cup nuts (slivered almonds, walnuts, or pecans)
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, chopped apricots or cranberries)
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x 13 pan. In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 18 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. (I usually cut mine into 24 bars).
Our favorite mixes are almonds with cranberries or apricots with pecans.
I like to keep mine in the fridge in the chance that they last longer than five days...
From start to finish is less than 1 hour.
(this recipe was given to me by my friend Christina)