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

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