Granola bars

These are NOT, I repeat NOT, a "diet" food.  We don't do diet food here (well, other than using stevia in place of sugar in my drinks.)   We do whole food and eat sweets in moderation.  But my BabyLove works a job that has him gone 14 hours a day and only gives him one meal break.  So I need to pack "extras" to hold him over.  My granola bars have been a favorite way to do this (as well as nuts, raw veggies, fruits, "hippie popcorn", etc.)  I typically do a "granola bar blast" every 2 or 3 months and make enough to carry him through.  For one thing, this gives him a variety of flavors at all times.  Secondly, and just as important, I can use the same bowl, measuring cups, etc, over and over.  So I get 5 to 7 batches of granola bars for just ONE mess.  These don't need to be refrigerated if they will be eaten within a week but if you are making a bunch, I would recommend keeping them in the fridge or freezer (especially if they have banana, pumpkin or applesauce.)  Since I'm baking for 2 months or more, I freeze mine.  When I pack them in his lunch, they have defrosted by the time he is ready to eat them.  This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Kitchen Stewardship.  Here is her recipe:  http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/06/16/recipe-connection-homemade-granola-and-granola-bars/  But I realized I've changed enough of it that it is easier to post my recipe than to post hers and tell you all my changes.

Remember those "Chose Your Own Adventure" books?  I loved them!!  This is a "Chose Your Own Ingredients" recipe! There is a "base" recipe - but even that has options - and then you add whatever you want!

1 cup oil
1 cup liquid sweetener
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups of add-ins

First, put 1 cup of oil and 1 cup of liquid sweetener in a bowl and mix well.  For the oil, I use 1 cup of coconut oil OR 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce, pumpkin puree, mashed banana or even peanut butter.  You could also use softened butter.  For the sweetener, I typically use honey (not my expensive local raw honey because hey, this is going to be COOKED!) but will sometimes replace part or all with maple syrup (grade B) or blackstrap molasses, depending on what flavor I am trying. And when I am using applesauce or banana, I'll often go just under a cup of sweetener.  I've started using my immersion blender to mix this together and it works really well.

Next, I mix in 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of baking soda.  Up next, 4 1/2 cups of rolled oats (not quick) and 1 1/2 cups of flour (whole wheat is best but do NOT try to use "alternative" flours: brown rice, coconut, etc.  Also, don't try to use less flour.  The bars will NOT hold together.)  Stir it all together.  Next is the fun part: add-ins!  Add a total of 2 cups of whatever fun stuff you want to put in.  My husband LOVES the ones with chocolate chips, so pretty much every batch has a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of something else.  After you have the add-ins stirred in, put it all in a well greased 9x13 pan.  You need to press it in really, really well.  I grease my hands and use them but then I'll also take the back of a spoon and beat it down.  Make sure to push the edges down so they don't burn.  Bake it at 325 for 18 to 25 minutes (mine take the full 25) and then let them cool in the pan before cutting into squares (or any other shape, if that floats your boat!)

Because I'm doing multiple batches, I  use two 9x13 pans.  I make room in my fridge so I can put one in there to cool before removing them from the pan.  So once I get going, I have one pan in the oven, one cooling in the fridge and the next batch mixed in the bowl, ready to go in the pan when it comes out of the fridge.  The cooler the bars are when you remove them from the pan, the better they will stay together.  

So now, the fun part!  Some flavors I have done:

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip: pumpkin puree in place of half the oil,  nutmeg, cinnamon, 1 cup soft/stale cinnamon apple chips (just cinnamon and apple!) and one cup chocolate chips (because husband,)

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip:  1 banana (equaled half a cup) in place of half the oil, 1 cup broken up walnuts, 1 cup chocolate chips

Banana Raisin Chocolate Chip: 1 banana (equaled half a cup) in place of half the oil, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup chocolate chips

Cinnamon Apple Chocolate Chip: applesauce in place of half the oil, cinnamon, 1 cup soft/stale cinnamon apple chips (just cinnamon and apple!) and one cup chocolate chips.

Coconut Mac Chocolate Chip: 3/4 cup of chopped macadamia nuts, 3/4 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I get mine from Amazon)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip: unsweetened, creamy peanut butter in place of half the oil, 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup peanuts

Pecan Maple Chocolate Chip: use maple syrup as liquid sweetener, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup chocolate chips

Toffee Butterscotch Chocolate:  we had some leftover/slightly melted/going stale Heath bars after Halloween last year.  I chopped up 1 cup of them and also added 1 cup of butterscotch chips.  They were, needless to say, a HUGE hit and the guys at work wanted Dan to share any time he had them in his lunch!  At least this is healthier than eating plain Heath bars, right???