Granola Bar in a Jar
I have a confession to make. Perhaps some of you are saying-another one? I love sweet and salty almond granola bars! I know that they have as many calories and as much fat as a chocolate bar but I rarely indulge in a chocolate bars.
Our son and his wife are very savvy about whole food/non additive cooking. He pointed out that the issue with granola bars is that fat and sugary gunk hold the ingredients into a bar shape. They pack these little jars up instead for lunch at work (and in his case and/or school). The night that we had dinner at their home, we each had our own granola bar in a jar to pour over vanilla bean ice cream-oh my. They keep the following ingredients in their pantry and then each assemble their own concoction according to personal preference:
Pecans, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts and/or other favourite nuts. Seeds like sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and poppy. Dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, apricots , banana, mango, apple, etc. Chocolate chips-milk chocolate chips cost a little more but are highly recommended. Making your own granola ensures that even less white sugar and additives are consumed. This process is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. :
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 2 c of oatmeal (not instant) with 1 t of cinnamon and ¼ c unsweetened coconut and spread onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with 5 T of maple syrup or liquid honey and a little olive oil. Stir well and then smooth out. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring and smoothing every 5 minutes.
Kath’s quote: “My own prescription for health is less paperwork and more running barefoot through the grass.” ~Terri Guillemets
I too enjoy granola bars currently my fave is the Kashi Dark chocolate Cherry which I only buy when they are on sale. Love the idea of the Jars but would replace the milk chocolate with dark chocolate as it has some magic health benefits. My soon to be sister in law makes her own granola bars which happen to be sweet and salty I will try and track down the recipe for you.