These homemade granola bars are low in sugar and fat, and high in fruit and fibre. They’re perfect for lunch-boxes as an alternative to the sugary store-bought granola bars.
2 1/2 cups Rogers Porridge Oats*
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup of dried fruit (I used 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup chopped dried apricot)
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1 banana, mashed
2 tbsp canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
*Rogers Porridge Oats is a mixture of oats, wheat bran, oat bran and flax seed. It’s awesome, but if you can’t find this in your area, you can use 2 cups of rolled oats, and 1/4 cup each of wheat bran, oat bran and flax seed.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 baking pan. In large bowl, mix together the porridge oats, cinnamon, flour, and fruit. Make a well in the centre, pour in the honey, egg, banana, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Pat the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars or squares. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting or they will be too hard to cut.
These were a big hit at our house! All of us enjoyed them a lot. We took them to the park to have as a snack and Cole shared them with some friends there and they liked them too. Bennett kept saying num, num, num when he was eating them so I guess that means he likes them. I think I’ll be making these instead of buying granola bars from now on.
Update: here’s a variation I just tried and they were even better than the original. Use maple syrup instead of honey and add 1/4 cup of peanutbutter. Yum!
Another update: Try them with chocolate chips, they’re amazing! Chocolate makes everything better.
-Adapted from http://www.quietfish.com/notebook/?p=1642
My kids like to whine, especially when it comes to the food they eat, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to make tasty and healthy meals for them. Follow along as I share family-friendly recipes and reviews from my picky family members, who I lovingly call “The Whine Critics.” 
