Fruit-and-Nut Oatmeal Bars, pg. 281

I can be shopping at REI and suddenly NEED a $2 Larabar.   The chewy fruit where sweet meets tart......luv it!  I made a batch last night and now have 15 Lara-like-bars to satisfy my cravings in the days to come. 

This recipe uses honey and orange juice concentrate instead of sugar.  The rest of the recipe consists of rolled oats + apricots + cranberries + raisins + almonds + sunflower + flax seeds.    Tami, a friend at work liked the texture, sweetness of the fruit and crunchiness of the nuts.  She stated, "I think this was pretty good. I am not sure I could eat a lot of it, but I think this is a great morning treat, bet it would be great with yogurt! I give this 3 grains up!"

My husband gaining the nickname "Mr. Ben" decided he liked the bars rating them a 3.2/5 grains.   He described the taste as "eating a handful of trail mix with raisins and grains instead of nuts." (I guess he could not taste the toasted almonds).

I must say part of the fun with this blog comes from Ben stating every night he would like to eat "normal" food.  I then present the dish with my recipe book opened and a pencil in hand.  Before he's done chewing his first bite, I've usually asked him "Soooo, what do you think?" at least 3 times. Usually by mid meal, his comments and remarks become so funny that we can't stop laughing.  If you've met the Whipple's, Captain Crunch is considered a grain, Kool-Aid is 100% juice, and M&M's are a vegetable. 

I feel like I need to apologize to Lorna.  I think that's why Vicki won't let me write the author and tell her about our blog.  Vicki, we could be the next Julie & Julia!!!      - amy