Healthy Homemade Granola Bars

Our favorite granola bars, and freezer friendly.  Excellent for a snack, for car trips, camping, motorcycle rides (minus the chocolate since it can melt), school lunches and more.

Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper.  If you do not have parchment paper, you may be successful lining it with foil and lightly oiling it (I have only used parchment and it works great).

In a rimmed sheet pan, place 2 1/2 cups organic oats and 1/2 cup chopped organic nuts of your choice.

Heat oven to 350°F and toast oats and nuts for about 8 minutes.  If you chose to add seeds (read below for the additional 3/4 cup of your choice), I like to add them to the sheet pan and toast along with the oats and nuts.  I use hemp seeds often.

While that is toasting in the oven, in a small pan heat:

1/4 c. organic butter
1/4 c. organic honey
1/3 c. organic brown sugar

Heat on low until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add:

1/2 to 1 tsp. homemade vanilla.  I like to use 1 tsp.  Stir.

Pour toasted oat/nut/seed mix into a mixing bowl, and add:

3/4 cup of your choice of dried fruits, seeds, coconut etc. If adding chocolate bits, do not add yet.

Pour the heated honey mixture over the oat and fruit/nut mixture.

Mix well until everything is coated.  This will prevent anything crumbling off when you cut it into bars.  

*wait for mixture to cool before adding any chocolate bits to this.  

Pour mixture into the prepared pan and press down.  I like to use the back of a measuring cup to do this step.  Place in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Remove from the refrigerator, and turn upside down and remove parchment paper.  On a cutting board, slice the bars as you prefer.

Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Note:  I do not add any salt to this.  I use salted organic butter and the taste is great!  

Healthy Homemade Granola Bars  © March 2019 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Fun and Food

Sunday was the continuation of fun planning.  We have the hall and band booked for our big 20th Anniversary party.  We are working on food now.  Our honeymoon has already been planned and we are very excited.  It will be simple - loud music, food, friends and family, and of course drinks.

We are making other vacation plans and fun happenings too.  Garden plans and more.  The year is starting out pretty good.

Although we had a tough garden year last year, the garden still provides, along with the chickens and my ability to prepare freezer foods.  I still have a small amount of garden sweet potatoes, jalapenos in the freezer as well as dandelion greens, and some pickled garlic.  Oh, and I found one more container of frozen green onions from the garden, and tossed in herbs I dried from the garden.  It was delicious.

Plum jam.  There is always a good supply of jams and jellies to enjoy too.

Meals have been planned for the next few days too, including a crock pot veggie glazed medley that includes turnips and parsnips.

I pulled a pint of frozen pumpkin puree from the freezer for pumpkin-sage macaroni, which was our dinner last night for our guests.  I also made a crock pot of homemade sloppy joes.

But....guests didn't come over.  Sigh.  Via a group family text, a cook out was being planned at someone else's house last minute.  The weather warmed up to 54 by 2pm and 56°F by 4pm.  Was I mad or glad?  Both.

Guess what we did?  We got the Harley out and got our ride in to their place, minus the crock pot and other dishes I baked.  No worries on the dinner tonight - lots of leftovers.

March is still "flu" season, and with the temps going up and down, I am on germ patrol daily.  Anti-ill sprayed everywhere, homemade "lysol" wipes etc. and of course daily dose of probiotics, greens, nuts/seeds and healthy food.  One restaurant closed Sunday due to flu, and many schools have been closing.  Keep washing those hands!