Mama Bite : Food & Drink : Make Your Own Granola Bars
Make Your Own Granola Bars

Russian to get your kid a quick, healthy snack?

09.09.2009

Submitted by alara on Tue, 09/08/2009 - 11:00pm.
The Bite:
Homemade granola bars rule. Try whipping up this easy granola bar recipe from our pal, author and veggie maven Nava Atlas. It uses whole grains and seeds, and steers clear of the processed stuff in packaged bars. The upshot: You'll save cash, control the ingredients, and banish unnecessary waste.
The Benefits: 
  • A greener world for your heirs. Regular bars are individually wrapped, boxed, and packed in cartons, and trucked across the country. Homemade bars spare resources all around.
  • Reigning over health. Many commercial brands contain high-fructose corn syrup, synthetic preservatives, and even traces of hydrogenated oils (trans fats). Not an issue when you make your own.
  • Not spending a royal fortune. A box of store-bought organic granola bars runs about $4-$5. Depending on ingredients, a batch of homemade ones'll cost you a third of that - probably less.
Personally Speaking: 
 
Wanna Try: 
Soft and Chewy Granola Bars
Makes 8 bars

Ingredients:
(local and organic whenever possible)

  • 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 Tb ground flaxseeds or wheat germ
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp natural granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 cup granola of your choice (try our easy homemade)
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1 Tb safflower oil
  • 1/2 cup raisins or currants
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter chips or chocolate chips, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the first six (dry) ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together. Then make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the applesauce and oil. Stir until the wet and dry ingredients are completely mixed, then add raisins and optional chips.

Pour the batter into a lightly oiled 9-by-9-inch pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife you insert in the center tests clean. Let cool until just warm, then cut into eight bars.

Also, check the blog Friday for Nava's Classic Crunchy Granola recipe.

Timeout

Mama Biter Katie Montague of Washington D.C. makes all-organic Muesli breakfast bars. Quinn, 14 months, isn't old enough to eat a whole one yet, but tries his best.

Bang For The Bite

If 10,000 Mama Biters make a batch of granola bars instead of buying a box of premade ones, we'll keep the weight of 42 Russian monarchs in snacks laden with processed ingredients out of kids' bodies.

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kate  on September 09, 2009 at 07:10 AM 1
yippee! can't wait to try this - homemade granola bars are not always successful, and I am pretty over buying premade, even the organic/healthy ones. Now how about a good "cereal bar" recipe? Trader Joe's cringes because I wipe out the shelf...
Samantha  on November 12, 2009 at 04:02 AM 2
A greener world for your heirs. Regular bars are individually wrapped, boxed, and packed in cartons, and trucked across the country. Homemade bars spare resources all around.free games

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