Wholesome, Healthy Granola Bars

With fall fully upon us I have truly settled into a routine, which has become quite comforting. Getting up at 6:15 AM for school can seem brutal in the moment when you have to tear yourself away from the warm covers of your bed, but going to school to learn new things each day, keeping up with going to the gym, and taking the time each day to appreciate the seasonal changes makes for a very productive and exciting time of year. Besides, after having a long (and yes, often quite tiring) school week, the weekends are so much more relaxing! Sleeping in, making nice breakfasts, and getting together with friends or chilling out at home all make for a revitalizing time to recharge for the upcoming week.

Although good for any season, granola bars are especially good in the fall time: the toasted hearty oats, buttery sweet honey, and the wholesome flavor of fruits, nuts, and seeds. Because it's already becoming quite chilly in PA, coming home from school I always immediately turn on the kettle for some tea. While my tea is steeping, I always like to have a little snack, and something about the autumn weather makes me want a hearty snack in the afternoon. Granola bars are lovely for just that because they provide a great wholesome flavor, are healthy, and will fill you up. They're also tasty as a quick, but fully nutritional breakfast if you add in  a glass of milk and an apple or banana (breakfast of champs for when you're in a pinch, if you ask me).

I have tried a number of granola bars recipes, and while many have a great flavor, there is always been something which has kept me from making them my go-to, whether it be the texture (either falling apart in crumbs or not have any crunch) or that they're not very healthy. I have a recipe for honeyed granola bars from my Grandma, and they have all the flavors I want from a granola bar, and with some tweaking to the recipe I think I have got them to the ideal texture! More over, they're very wholesome and it's extremely easy to personalize with whatever nuts/fruits/seed you prefer.

I love having old-school recipe cards in Grandma's handwriting!

Ingredients:
2 cups quick-cook oats
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1/2 coarsely chopped almonds
4 tablespoons sunflower seeds
4 tablespoons whole flax seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons oat bran
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped sour cherries (optional; I decided to leave them out this time)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F
2. Toast oats on baking sheets for 10 minutes
3. Remove from oven, and combine oats, coconut, nuts, sunflower seeds, flax seed, sesame, oat bran, and salt
4. Combine honey, oil, water, and vanilla; I then heat this mixture in the microwave for about 45 seconds to make it easier to mix into the dry ingredients
5. Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix well
6. Spread out on baking sheet (not pressed down) and bake for 10 minutes
7. Remove from oven, stir, and bake for another 5 minutes
8. Remove from oven, and stir in cherries (if using)
9. Press into greased 9x9 pan (I greased mine with coconut oil); to get bars that will stay together, use back of spatula to really press into the pan
10. Let cool only slightly (about 15 minutes) before cutting into bars

I hope you get the chance to try these out and enjoy them... my grandma would be very pleased!

xx

Erin