One of the biggest steps to eating healthier is to eat foods full of organic, natural, recognizable ingredients: if I don't recognize an ingredient I probably won't eat it. The best way to know what is in your food is to put it there yourself, then you know exactly what you're eating. I make a lot of my own food. I am even one of those wack-o's that has a wheat grinder to make my own flour. You don't have to go that far if you don't wish to (though the quality of food cannot be beat!), but making simple changes make big differences. Try out these amazing granola bars to start. They're easy, and I promise they will not stay around long.
Use this recipe as a spring board. Feel free to play around with your nuts/seeds/fruit into a combination you like. I have even been naughty once or twice and have added dark chocolate chips.... yum!
INGREDIENTS
6 Cups Oats
½ Cup Brown
Sugar
1 ½ Cups
Wheat Bran
3 Cups Whole
Wheat Flour
½ Cup Vital
Wheat Gluten
¾ Cup Flax
Seed
1 Tb.
Cinnamon
1 Tb. Salt
1 ½ Cup
Nuts/Seeds - I used Pumpkin seeds and Almonds
2 Cups Dried
Fruit (optional)
1 Cup Honey
4 Eggs
1 ½ Cups
Canola Oil
½ Cups
Sorghum
1 Tb.
Vanilla
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven
to 350 degrees. Generously spray 2 jelly roll pans with non-stick cooking
spray.
In a large
bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat bran, flour, gluten, flax seed,
cinnamon, salt and any nuts, seeds, dried fruit and chocolate chips you are
using. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, eggs, oil, sorghum and
vanilla. Beat wet ingredients until mixed well and then stir into dry
ingredients. Divide mixture into two equal parts and pat evenly into the
prepared jelly roll pans.
Bake for 20 minutes
each in the preheated oven, or until the bars begin to turn golden at the
edges. The longer you cook your granola bars, they crispier they will be, so it's a personal preference thing. Cool for 5 minutes, and then cut into bars while still warm. Do not
allow the bars to cool completely before cutting or they will be too hard to
cut and will crumble: Store in an airtight container.
