Has anyone ever made granola bars? I'm thinking about making some, as soon as I can find some that don't call for a cup of sugar and a stick of butter. I was wondering if they were easy? Something simple, probably, and no nuts b/c my kids won't be able to take them to school. Maybe just plain ones. I dunno. Anyway, anyone ever make them?

i never made them but i think unfortunately they are generally pretty high in sugar and some kind of fat - be it butter or whatever. if you find a recipe for some that aren't please share though! =)

I make "granola bars" that come from Heidi Swanson's cookbook Super Natural Cooking. The don't have added fat, but they do have nuts and sweeteners. You could probably substitute extra dried fruit for the nuts though. Here's the basic recipe.

Grease a 9x9 or 13x9 pan with 1T of shortening/butter/etc. Either size will work they'll just be thinner in a larger pan.

Mix together in a BIG bowl:

1 1/4 cup oats
1 1/4 cup toasted walnuts (could use fruit)
1/2 cup oat bran (I've used wheat germ too)
1 1/2 cup unsweetened brown rice crisp cereal (no puffed, but rice crispies will work too)
1 cup dried cranberries
3 T finely chopped crystallized ginger

Cook the following in a saucepan until it boils and thickens slightly (approx. 4 mins.):

1 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup raw sugar
1t vanilla extract
1/2t salt

Add to the dry ingredients, mix well, and press evenly into pan (wax paper helps with this.) Let cool and then cut into desired amount of bars.

I worked out the calories for 16 bars: 219 calories each, 7g fat, 36.5g carbs (2.4g fiber), and 3.6g protein. If you made them smaller they'd be even less!

Heidi Swanson has a great website with lots of great recipes. Just google 101 cookbooks and you'll find it.

That sounds good, but IDK if my kids would eat 'em. You know kids and their pickiness. Any dried fruit and they would wrinkle their noses at them. Hmm. Maybe I can try a batch first and see if they would eat them; at least I will! (Minus nuts...I'm not a huge nut fan aside from peanuts and cashews). There are a few kids at the school with nut allergies so my kids can't take anything with nuts in them to school.

http://www.recipezaar.com/157808

The nutritional information is to the left.

Or this one...doesn't look bad, since it doesn't have butter in it. Could probably take out the chocolate chips, too (nut that's the kids favorite part!)

Grab-and-Go Breakfast Bars
Makes 16 bars

* 1 cup quick cooking oats
* 1 cup shredded wheat cereal
* 1 cup walnuts
* 1 1/2 cups dried fruit (we use a combination of dried apricots, dried plums, and dried cranberries)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 large omega-3 eggs
* 1/3 cup honey
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Place the oats, shredded wheat, walnuts, dried fruit, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped (the dried fruit will be the size of a dried pea or lentil).
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, and vanilla. Add the oatmeal mixture and chocolate chips and stir to combine.
4. Transfer to the baking pan and flatten down gently with the back of a spoon or spatula to spread evenly.
5. Bake about 18 minutes until the edges turn golden brown and the bars are done. Let bars cool completely in pan before slicing and serving.

Nutritional information per serving

150 calories, 7g fat (1g saturated, 0.7g omega-3), 85mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 3g protein.

The bars freeze really well, so if you do have any leftovers, wrap them in individual portions in plastic bags, and pop in your freezer for a handy snack at a later date.

There is a bar recipe in the South Beach Diet recipes forum under phase 2 breakfast, called Oatmeal Breakfast bars. They dont have added sugar or butter. Everyone says they are great! Hope that helps.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=111624