Granola Bars

Caroline — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:20:20 +0000

For a long time I’ve had a love-hate relationship with granola bars. My idea of the perfect granola bar is something chewy, delicious, not too sweet, and that serves as a satisfying snack. I always want to like the store-bought ones, but time and again they disappoint me.

Every few months I’ll be in a grocery store and will wander past a large display of some new variety of granola bars and will then somehow convince myself that these are the bars I have been looking for all my life. Ten minutes later, I’m in the checkout line with a basket filled with granola bars, only to get home and discover that these are no different than any other bar I’ve ever had. They’re either bland or too sweet and I still feel hungry after eating 5 of them.

So now, I’ve taken matters into my own hands. I found this recipe from the lovely Ina Garten (I love her SO MUCH) and after making a few of my own adjustments I am pleased to announce that these are, in fact, the granola bars that I’ve always dreamed of. They’re chewy, with just a hint of sweetness, and are a satisfying snack that neither I, nor you, have to feel guilty about.

Granola Bars

Adapted from Ina Garten

Print this recipe!

I changed the original recipe quite a bit. I was worried about it being too sweet and took out the brown sugar altogether, and am definitely glad that I did. I was also worried after reading some reviews that the butter would make the bars greasy, so I cut the amount down from 3 tablespoons to 1. I couldn’t find wheat germ in the store so I substituted flaxseed meal, but either option would work. My favorite dried fruits are apricots and cranberries, but you can use anything that you like or have on hand.

Also – not a fan of bars? Just break this up into pieces and you can eat it as your morning breakfast cereal.

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups chopped dried fruit

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 by 12-inch baking sheet and line it with greased parchment paper, or a Silpat.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer to a large bowl and add in flaxseed meal. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Combine the butter, honey, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dried fruit and stir the mixture together.

Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 2-3 hours and then cut into squares.

Avocado Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Caroline — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:33:57 +0000

When I was growing up, the traditional salad to accompany dinner was pretty predictable: lettuce, cucumber, carrot, tomato. You’ve all had this salad right? You’ve seen it a thousand times, at your dinner table, friends’ dinner tables, at restaurants, basically, everywhere. I have to admit it was never a favorite. I don’t like raw tomatoes and am not the biggest fan of cucumber either, and there’s nothing exciting about eating lettuce and carrots all by themselves.

Maybe it’s the California lifestyle that has gotten to me, or maybe I was always looking for a change, but I have now found my favorite simple salad. Spring mix with fresh avocado and crunchy homemade croutons. Simple, delicious, perfect in every way. I normally eat these salads with a honey mustard dressing I developed. Chase will happily eat any salad with this dressing on it, and believe me, for someone who hates to eat anything green, that is really saying a lot.

I recently tried it with a sprinkling of dried cranberries, and it added a nice flavor as well as color, and really no extra effort at all. For those of you who truly love your cucumbers and tomatoes, try my avocado salad just once. I’ll even promise to try something new too, just not tonight…

Avocado Salad w/ Honey Mustard Dressing

For the Honey Mustard Dressing:

3 heaping tablespoons of course ground or whole grain mustard
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 tsp red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients together well in a bowl.

For the croutons:

Chop up a piece of good, crusty bread. Lay the pieces flat on a small baking sheet (a toaster oven works well for this). Sprinkle with olive oil and toss with salt and pepper. Toast until golden brown.

For the salad:

Mixed greens
1 avocado, chopped
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
½ cup homemade croutons

Top greens with avocado, cranberries and croutons and toss with mustard dressing.

A Cozy Kitchen » Cranberry

Granola Bars

Granola Bars

Avocado Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Avocado Salad w/ Honey Mustard Dressing