Homemade Granola Bars

I have been trying to clean up my diet lately and not eat any processed foods at all. As part of that, I have started making my own granola bars, and I am completely hooked on these things. They don't stay around long after I make them! Everyone gobbles them down and I end up having to make them every week or two. Good thing they are easy to make!

Ingredients

6 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups wheat bran

1 Tb. cinnamon

3 cups flour

2 cups dried fruit

3/4 cup flax seed

1 1/2 cup chopped nuts

2 tsp salt

optional: 1 cup mini chocolate chips or other sweet treat (it does add extra sugar and calories, but is Oh so yummy ;o)

1/2 cup sorugum

1 cup honey

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup canola oil

2 Tb. vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two, 9x13 baking dishes, with non stick spray.

Mix the first 9 dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix together the remaining wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour in the wet: mix well.

Divide mixture evenly between the two baking dishes and pat evenly on both pans. Bake for about 20 minutes for each pan (I bake them seperately), or until the bars just begin to turn golden at the edges.

cool for 5 minutes then cut into bars while still warm. If you allow the bars to cool too long before cutting they will get to hard to cut - they will get a little crunchy as they cool.

These will last for a couple of weeks if kept in an airtight container. I usually put mine in gallon Ziplock baggies.

Note:

Play around with your dried fruit/nut combinations. You can make something different every time to keep it fun. Here are some of my favorite combinations:

Raspberry, white chocolate and almonds

Dark Chocolate covered pomegranate seeds and almonds

Blueberry and macadamia nut