Thursday, January 23, 2014

Homemade Granola Bars

Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups regular or gluten free rolled oats
1 banana, smashed
1/4 cup whole roasted unsalted almonds
4 teaspoons ground flax seed
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup almond butter
Dash pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Combine oats, smashed banana, almonds, flax seeds, cranberries and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl and set aside.  Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add maple syrup and almond butter.  Stir until warmed and well mixed.  Pour warm mixture over the oat mixture and stir until well mixed.  Line a 8x8 pan with plastic or parchment paper and pour the granola bar mix into the pan.  Pat down the mixture until well spread in the pan and even at the top.  Keep covered and place in refrigerator or freezer 45-60 minutes or until hardened.  (Optional: Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees before serving.)


Brown sugar oatmeal from scratch

Ingredients needed:

2 cups water
2 cups milk
2 cups of rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions:
Add all ingredients in a pan and stir.  Heat on medium-high until it starts to bubble.  Then turn it down to medium and heat until it gets thick.  *You can also add cinnamon to it.  I added extra brown sugar to make it a little sweeter :)

**This makes a big amount if you are making it for one person.  You may want to make a smaller batch by using less ingredients.**