Outside the Box {Homemade Granola Bars.}

My four boys…Eat, a lot.
They’re growing up quickly, but they’re still in that snacky phase.  They want to munch pretty much all day long.  So, we go through a lot of snacky foods around here—like yogurt, fruit, smoothies, and granola bars.

But we’ve gone through just about every box-variety of granola bars out there, and I think I’m kind of over them all.
Too expensive.
Too full of non-food.
Too small (sometimes it takes three to satisfy my eight year old.)
SO…we decided it was time to think OUTSIDE OF THE BOX about GRANOLA BARS.

Once again, I’m experimenting around here.
There are a lot of great recipes to try, and I would love to hear from you if you have a favorite.
Today I am sharing a recipe I tried from Weelicious.com.  I think it’s great, in fact, I think it’s pretty perfect!  And there are plenty of ways to mix it up if you want to.

The kids love these!  I devoured one (okay, two,) for an afternoon snack.
I can’t wait to try them with chopped dates next time!  Mmmm….

Here’s the recipe:

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Ingredients:

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Combine oats and next five ingredients in one bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the other ingredients. Combine wet ingredients with oat mixture and stir well.
Place granola mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a rectangle.  (I used  9 X 13 inch pan.)
Bake for about 40 minutes, watching so that it doesn’t get too dark.
Allow to cool completely, then cut into bars to your desired size.
**You can substitute dried fruit, or raisins for the chocolate chips.
Individually wrap the bars and they will last for several days–even weeks.

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Hope you love them too.

How about your family?  Are your kids snackers?  What is your go-to snack to have on hand?

Have a great day, and see you soon!
ALOHA,
thegrommom

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