HEALTHFUL RECIPES: My next attempt at a "Breakfast" Granola Bar

Okay so the first attempt at a "Breakfast Bar" was a good one, but not perfect, and not absolutely what I wanted to eat regularly. I want to make a bar that I can regularly add to my family's breakfasts or lunches, or just to snack on when nourishment was needed.

My next attempt certainly covered more of the bases I was looking for. This time I added puffed rice for a neat mouth-feel! I also eliminated the flour, bananas & yogurt, for making it less like a cake-bar and more like a granola bar. And of course I nixed the cardamom.

Here's my new recipe:

2 cups oats
2 cups puffed rice
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup pistachios
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed)
1 tbsp vanilla

Some bittersweet chocolate
a dash of cream

To begin, mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix the wet ingredients together. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Then oil a baking pan. I used a 9 x 13 and that was pretty good. I poured the ingredients in the pan and pressed down firmly and evenly. You really want it to compact and stick together.

I cooked it at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Then cooled on the counter while I prepared the chocolate coating. I added the chocolate because the bars seemed to be falling apart easily. This seems to be the downside to using honey! To do the chocolate, I melted it in the microwave and added a bit of cream to thin it out so I could spread it over the bars. Then I chilled the bars in the fridge.

My complaint with this version was that the honey causes the bars to never solidify, so you have to keep them in the fridge or they will fall apart. I don't really want to use sugar, but I may have to, to get the effects I want out of my bar. Perhaps using an unrefined raw sugar would work? I will have to try that next time.

So the bars were not exactly perfect, but they were DELICIOUS! As my husband put it, "these are like CRACK."Try 'em and see what you think. What would you do to change them and make them better? The honey & peanut butter made it lip-smackin' good! And the crunchiness of the puffed rice fulfilled all my childhood fantasies. This is certainly closer to perfection.... but my quest continues....

This recipe is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

HEALTHFUL RECIPES: Whole Wheat Honey Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Okay, so I was in the mood for something sweet and had nothing good in the house to satiate my desires. It was up to me to make something quick!

I speedily googled "healthy cookie recipes" and found this RECIPE with which to work off of. I tweaked it a bit and came up with this:

Whole Wheat Honey Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup freshly ground whole wheat flour (I had a cup leftover in my fridge)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup raisins

Being in a rush and feeling lazy, I threw it all into the mixer at once. First I mixed it mostly that way, then I used a spoon to mix the last bits so that it would not be over-mixed, but definitely mixed. I found I had a lot of WW flour on the bottom of the bowl, so it took a bit of spoon-mixing to get it combined.

Then I used my mini cookie scoop and cookie sheet with silicone liner. Placed 12 cookies on the sheet in nice little round balls. Didn't bother flattening or anything else. Just shoved them in the oven.

I used their suggestion of 335 degrees. I didn't pre-cool (again in a rush). I'm not sure how long they cooked, but suffice to say, I looked to see that they were golden brown. :)

And Yes, they were delicious!!! Okay so the freshly ground whole wheat was a bit crunchy. I definitely need a way of grinding finer grain. But it was wonderful regardless!

And yay... I have sweets! Sweets I even feel good sharing with my 21 month old. :)

 Posted on Real Food Wednesday