Chewy Granola Bars

Granola bars or cereal bars are often a staple in a snack rotation. However, they are also typically filled with ingredients and fillers such as high fructose corn syrup, red dye #40, and butylated hydroxytoluene (also known as BHT).

Here is a homemade alternative. You can make these on the sweet side or the strictly healthful side. Skip conventional vegetable oil, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. A few swaps and these are much healthier and twice as tasty!

I promise that these can be put together in about five minutes. Grab and go for an easy snack!

Here’s our “dessert” version with raisins and organic dark chocolate and peanut butter chips.

Chewy Granola Bars

Ingredients

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (no sugar!) or Sunbutter
1/3 cup honey (local honey is best, maple syrup also works)
1/4 cup coconut oil (this time I used a more neutral sunflower oil)
1 cup oats
1 cup total of any combination of sesame seeds, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, dried fruit (go sugar free!), chocolate chips (the darker the better)

Directions

1. In a medium sized saucepan, melt together peanut butter, honey and oil.

2. Remove from heat and add one cup of oats. Choose your favorite combination of coconut flakes, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit and mini chocolate chips, to equal a total of one cup. (I just got out my one cup measuring cup and poured in the ingredients until the cup was full.) Pour in and stir well. (I recommend letting the mixture cool a bit first if you’re adding chocolate chips. Otherwise they’ll completely melt. Of course, that’s yummy too!)

3. Stir well, then spread mixture into a 8×8 or 9×4 pan.

4. Chill for two hours, then cut into bars.

Another favorite is Awesome Oatmeal Bars. This is another flexible recipe. Get creative and make it your own! You’ll never reach for store-bought again!