Homemade Chewy Granola Bars – Day 23 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

My kids love chewy granola bars, but they’re expensive and have a lot of sugar. Homemade bars give you a lot more control over how much sugar is in them, although it’s still a fair amount. You can switch the add-ins for this recipe to make different types of granola bars. Consider adding chia seeds or flax seeds to make these even healthier.

Ingredients

4 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups quick oats
1 cup rice cereal or similar cereal
1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 cup raisins

Line one 11×7 baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Lightly butter the foil.

Place coconut oil, brown sugar, honey and cinnamon in a large saucepan on medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil, then decrease heat to low and simmer until the sugar is melted. This should take about two minutes, depending on your stove. Remove from heat. Mix in vanilla extract and salt.

Add quick oats, rice cereal, flax meal and raisins. Mix until thoroughly coated. Spread evenly into your baking pan. Press firmly with a spatula or lightly buttered hand to even it out.

Let sit to cool. Do not refrigerate or the bars will get hard. Remove from pan and foil, and slice into bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. These should last a couple weeks, depending on the ingredients you use, but hopefully the kids won’t let it come to that.

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars - Day 23 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats