Chewy Oatmeal Bars - Pinterest

I love trying new recipes. Ben loves granola so when I saw these bars on pinterest - I knew I was going to make them soon! These are healthy and not too sweet.


I used dried cranberries and dried blueberries for the dried fruits.  I also used slivered almonds.

Chewy Oatmeal Barsfrom marcigilbert 

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 C rolled oats
• ¼ C chopped walnuts (used slivered almonds)
• 1/4 C sunflower seeds
• 1/2 C dried fruits (half dried cranberries/half dried blueberries)
• ¼ C brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ½ C milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• In two separate bowls, mix dry ingredients, then wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry, mixing until combined.
• Pour batter into a square baking dish lined with parchment paper for easy transferring. My dish is 9 x 9.
• Bake 30 minutes. Once cool, cut into bars or squares.

Light Nut and Dried Fruit Granola

I have made this recipe quite a few times and Ben loves it! He loves granola but he likes it not too sweet. That's why I add less brown sugar!

This time, I made it with some dried blueberries instead of dried apricots.


Rose's Light Nut and Dried Fruit Granola
Adapted from Rose Reisman recipe

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (used 1/4 cup)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (used canola oil)

1/4 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/4 cup diced dried apricots (used dried blueberries)

1/4 cup diced dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped nuts (used almonds)

Preheat oven to 300°F Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable spray.

Combine the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, oil, orange juice, maple syrup and nuts in a mixing bowl. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, tossing once to prevent burning. Add the dried fruit.

Store in airtight containers for up to 1 month.

If you prefer to have dried fruit that is baked, add it to the granola mixture before it goes into the oven. It makes the fruit much chewier. If you want the granola crisper, leave it in the oven with the heat off for another two hours. Feel free to substitute any dried fruit of your choice

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Love granola bars - perfect little snack! Even better when they are homemade!!



These are so easy to make - few ingredients - and they are delicious!


We froze them and we have one every day in our lunch.


peanut-butter-granola-bars (Kraft recipes)

1 cup Kraft Light Smooth Peanut Butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup oil (used Canola)
2 cups large flake rolled oats
1/2 cup each wheat germ, raisins and chopped dried apricots (used dried cranberries instead of raisins)

HEAT oven to 350°F.

MIX first 3 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients.

PRESS onto bottom of 9-inch square pan.

BAKE 25 min. or until golden brown. Cool completely.

Substitute dried cranberries or dried currants for the raisins.

WW - Granola

After gaining 2 pounds during the 2 weeks of holidays, I am back on track!!  Went to my Weight Watchers' meeting yesterday and lost .6 pounds.  Have been drinking lots of water and have even been journaling what I eat 5 days a week (which is a big thing because I haven't journaled in a long time) for the last week.



No problem with the gym - have gone 4 times last week.


I love granola but I usually make it for Ben.  This time, I tried a WW recipe that I could have and count the points!!


It is delicious!
Will try it with apple juice next time and will add some almonds. Mmmmm!  Even Ben enjoyed it! ;)

Homemade Granola
(from Weight Watchers Website)
12 servings - 4 points per serving

3 cup(s) uncooked quick oats (used regular oats)

2 cup(s) ready-to-eat puffed rice cereal
6 Tbsp honey (used maple syrup)
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup(s) apple juice (used orange juice)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup(s) slivered almonds (used pecans)
1/4 cup(s) dried cranberries
1/4 cup(s) raisins

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix uncooked oats and puffed rice cereal together and spread on a non-stick baking sheet with sides; bake for 10 minutes, stirring once.


Meanwhile, mix honey, oil, apple juice, spices and vanilla together in a cup. When oats and puffed rice are done, spoon into a large bowl; set pan aside. Add almonds to cereal mixture and stir to combine. Pour honey-spice mixture over cereal mixture and mix thoroughly to distribute and coat completely; spread mixture back over pan.

Return pan to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring every few minutes. Remove from oven and spoon back into bowl. (Note: Be careful that granola doesn't burn - especially cereal along sides of pan.)

Stir raisins and cranberries into mixture; let cool. Store in an airtight container. Yields about a half cup per serving.

Granola with dried blueberries

Ben ran out of granola this weekend.  As soon as I found out - did a search on foodgawker to find a tasty new recipe to try!  I had just been to Costco where I had bought a bag of dried blueberries - first time trying those (I usually add some dried cranberries) - loved the sweetness of the dried blueberries!

So my search included some blueberries - came up with this recipe that I adapted a bit - blueberry-and-pecan-granola.html







Didn't add the honey because we like our granola not too sweet - so the amount of maple syrup was perfect for us!



Blueberry and Pecan Granola


• 1/2 cup coconut
• 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup wheat germ (didn't use)
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (used sunflower seeds)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup honey (didn't add)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups dried blueberries (or any other dried fruit or combination of dried fruits)

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
2. Place the coconut in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Combine the chopped coconut in a bowl with the oats, wheat germ, pecans, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a small saucepan on the stove, combine the water, honey, maple syrup and canola oil; bring just to a boil. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry mixture, stirring well to coat. Spoon the mixture onto a jellyroll pan and spread evenly. Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and stir in the dried blueberries. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.





Can't wait for Ben to run out of granola again!! ;)

Healthy Granola

My dbf Ben loves granola - he has a bowl every day.  And as I love baking, I discovered I loved making healthy granola too!!  I did make this before the heat wave we are having this week - no way am I baking anything in this heat!!  Can't wait for the weather to cool down so I can bake again!! :)

When I saw this recipe - breakfast-granola.html - I knew it would be a hit with Ben ... and it was!!













Here's the recipe:

Granola (my changes in red)


Source: compiled from different recipes on the internet

3 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned oats)
1 cup chopped walnuts (didn't add this as I didn't have at the time)
1 cup sunflower seeds (used unsalted seeds)
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup light brown sugar (added about half of this - we don't like too sweet granola!)
1/4 cup honey (used maple syrup)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
dried fruit, optional (used dried cranberries)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

In another bowl, combine honey, oil, and salt. Drizzle the honey mixture into the bowl with the oats and mix it all together. Pour onto a large, rimmed sheet pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, stirring every 10 or 15 minutes. It should be golden brown. Be careful not to burn it.

Remove from oven and cool completely. Add raisins or dried fruit, if you like, and mix until combined. Let cool. Store in an airtight container.

This is a very filling cereal - perfect to eat after a good workout!!