Many of you have enjoyed the funny comments that my husband, Ben, makes about me trying to continuously feed him grains. I'm happy to report that this recipe is "Ben Approved". I slipped a wrapped one in his coat pocket the other morning and at 9:35AM, I recieved a text from him stating the following, "Just ate the granola bar, yum, yum!". My response, "I knew you secretly loved sesame, buckwheat, wheat germ, almonds, and sunflower seeds." :)
GRAIN-OLA Bars
Adapted from: Bird Seed Energy Bars by Amy E.
Ingredients
- 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed - I used about 3/4 cup and did not pack down the sugar.
- 1 cup wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup honey - I used 1/4 cup of honey and filled the rest of the measuring cup with applesauce
- 1 cup canola oil - (Still adjusting this - I used a combo of oils (coconut, olive oil, and vegetable oil - I still feel this is a bit much)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup flax seeds (I used a 1/2 cupped of leftover cooked quiona)
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (I used 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup of dried buckwheat)
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- I added 2 handfuls of slivered almonds
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x14 inch ovenproof baking dish.
- Mix the rolled oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, and flour together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, canola oil, vanilla, and salt until evenly blended., and stir into the oat mixture. Stir in the flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and chocolate chips. Use your hands to mix the ingredients, and press the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven until the edges are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely in the baking dish before cutting into 2 inch bars.
Enjoy! -amy w.
