Ever Evolving Food Blog

Hello Everyone! I have had this blog for years now, and as my personal life has changed, so have my tastes and eating habits...for the better!! I am now a fully plant-based eater, so my newer recipes will reflect this lifestyle and way of eating.

All of my old recipes will remain on my food blog, of course, so there will be a mixture of the old and the new for everyone to look through and choose. You can always play around with any recipe out there and make it your own, whether it's plant-based or not. There are always other options!
Thanks SO much for following! Happy Eating!

What's Cooking With Melissa

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Sunday, March 8, 2015

Homemade Granola Bars

I love to hike, so I eat a lot of granola bars because they are easy to pack and carry, and they won't ruin or melt on a long hike.  They can also be fairly healthy if you make them yourself.  I used to eat Nature Valley granola bars, which aren't terrible as far as ingredients go, but if I can make something myself and know exactly what goes into it, I'll do it.  I think these are delicious, and they are super easy to make!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or butter alternative
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup organic light brown sugar
3 cups organic oats
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
1 Tbsp. flax seeds
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup dried coconut
*sometimes I add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
*you can add 1/2 cup chopped nuts if you like them

Directions:
Heat cutter (I cut mine into squares to make melting faster.), honey, and brown sugar in a large sauce pan on medium heat, stirring constantly until melted and blended.  Remove from heat and gently stir in all the other ingredients.  

Gently fold out onto a lined, sprayed cookie sheet and pack evenly.  This will make half a large, standard cookie sheet's worth of granola bars (*before cutting).  

Heat at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool and then cut into desired, measured bars.