Sharing our family's favorite snack recipe! Chewy Granola Bars!

One of the first things we realized in trying to be more economical was that our grocery budget was HUGE! Not that anyone having a family of five consisting of 3 teenagers is NOT huge, but we felt it was unreasonable. So began the learning curve on food budgeting, food storage, price matching, couponing in combination with price matching, buying in bulk, etc., etc., etc.

I have always tried to make our meals as much from "scratch" as possible, I believe it saves money and is healthier than pre-packaged, carb/corn/soy loaded convenience foods.

Here is our favorite snacking recipe, and my kids take them to friends' houses and events if they're asked to bring something to share. I purchase my oats in bulk, my vanilla in bulk, my honey locally or in bulk, and my butter at sale prices. Typically we use chocolate chips as the "add in" ingredient, and I try to buy those on sale, too.

These make a nice, chewy granola bar, and you can vary the ingredients a LOT. I found this just doing a web search for granola bars. It's from www.kitchenstewardship.com

Healthy Granola Bars
Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, or spelt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup honey

Add-ins: 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (or regular) and 1 cup chopped walnuts, or try any combination of 2 cups or less of dried fruits, sunflower seeds, coconut, nuts, baking chips, etc…

Lightly butter a 9×13-inch pan. In a large mixing bowl combine butter and honey first, Then add all ingredients except add-ins.
Beat hard until combined. Stir in add-ins.
Press mixture into pan — really jam it in there so your bars don’t fall apart. (You can use your hands!)
Bake at 325 degrees for 18-25 minutes until golden brown on the edges.
Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and serving.

Transformations:

Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and skip the chocolate chips
Use 1/2 cup natural peanut butter in place of 1/2 cup of butter
Substitute sorghum syrup or brown rice syrup for the honey (this is my favorite way to make the bars)

Want crunchy bars? Spread a full batch into a large cookie sheet or a half batch in a 9×13 pan. Press firmly and bake as usual. Cool completely and cut apart, then spread individually on a baking sheet or stone and toast again for ~10-13 minutes in a preheated 325F oven. Watch carefully for browning on the edges. Now, listen closely – do not touch. Got that? Wait until the bars are totally and completely cooled on the pan before removing, and you will have sturdy, crunchy granola bars to die for.