Hey kids-

So, I would say my lunch is probably the healthiest meal of my day. I almost always have a salad, some fruit, maybe some hummus and crackers. But then I ABSOLUTELY need something sweet about an hour later. A granola bar with some chocolate in it is one of my favorite treats, even next to cookies, chocolate bars, creme brulee…There is seriously something about the texture and chewiness that is just so perfect for me. For years I’ve been buying the bars that are marketed as healthy and high and fiber. Of course, I’m no dummy. I get that packaged/processed  foods can only be so healthy. Here’s what’s in my bar of choice:

What are mixed tocopherols? According to the 100% accurate wikipedia

Tocopherols (or TCP) are a class of chemical compounds of which many have vitamin E activity. It is a series of organic compound consisting of various methylated sphenols. Because the vitamin activity was first identified in 1936 from a dietary fertility factor in rats, it was given the name “tocopherol” from the Greek words “τόκος” [birth], and “φέρειν”, [to bear or carry] meaning in sum “to carry a pregnancy,” with the ending “-ol” signifying its status as a chemical alcohol.

Ummm…I just wanted a granola bar.

Last weekend I got ambitious and came up with my own recipe by borrowing from a few recipes I found online and improvising/substituting with what I had in the kitchen.

What you need:

- 3 cups of old fashioned oats

- 1 1/4 shredded coconut

-1/2 cup of flax seed

-1/4 cup of pepitas (little pumpkin seeds)

-1/2 cup sliced almonds

- 3 tbsps of natural peanut butter

- 2 tbsps of canola oil

- 1 1/2 cups of raisins

- 1 cup chocolate chips

- 2 teasps pure vanilla extract

- 2/3 cup of honey

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- teasp of cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Mix together the oats, coconut, seeds, almonds and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread out the mixture on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until lightly toasted.

Melt the peanut butter, oil, brown sugar and honey in a saucepan until smooth. Allow it to cool a little and then stir in the vanilla.

Mix in the raisins and chocolate chips to the toasted mixture, then pour the liquid mixture over that, making sure everything is coated. Transfer to a 9×13 baking dish and bake it for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars.

The verdict=tasty! They are a bit more crumbly and messier to eat than the store bought kind, but are definitely yummy.  And nothing to do with rat fertility.

I wrapped them up individually in cling wrap and then froze half of the batch so they wouldn’t go stale before I got to eat them (remember, no preservatives). So, I had two weeks worth of granola bars for lunch. You could switch this up according to your tastes. Maybe you want more dried fruit or like white chocolate chips?

Do you have a way better homemade version of something that’s typically store bought? SHARE!

Filed under: snacks