Homemade Granola Bars

Homemade Granola Bars

This week I kicked off a 2 week clean eating group. The first we week we are talking about what clean eating really means, giving tips, recipes, and meal planning help! This got me thinking about some of my favorite clean recipes that the whole family will love! One of our family favorites is homemade granola bars! This recipe only calls for 7 ingredients compared to store bought granola bars that has a list of ingredients a mile long and half of them you can't pronounce. This recipe is not only healthy but it will also save you money!

Here is the recipe I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup flour (whole wheat or coconut)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup honey or agave
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Optional add-ins if desired: mini chocolate chips, raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, other nuts

Preparation:

Before baking

1. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 pan and preheat oven to 325 F while making mixture.
2. Combine the applesauce and honey together in large bowl. Mix well (I use a hand mixer)
3. Add all ingredients together except for the add-ins and mix until combined. Stir in add-ins by hand.
4. Press mixture onto pan. Mixture can be sticky, I usually wet my hands before flattening out the mixture.
5. Bake at 325 F for 12-20 minutes or until golden brown. They won't look quit done but they will firm up when while cooling (I have waited to long one to many times...and they were hard)

Once they have cooled cut them into bars. I usually get around 25-30 bars per batch. Store them at room temperature in an easily accessible container! These will be gone within a few days!

I count 1 bar as 1 carb serving for the day!