Homemade Granola Bars

People today are so busy and all of us have skipped meals or grabbed unhealthy food items on the go. I like to stock my locker at work or at home with granola bars in order to have something healthier to snack on instead of the usual chips or candy bars. I have scanned the grocery aisles looking for the most nutritious granola bars and always come across the same conclusion. Each one of these products has something in them that steers me away from them whether its preservatives or artificial flavors or other items. I just wanted to bring granola bars on our trip to Myrtle Beach so we had some snacks in the car. Why is this so hard? Irritated, because to me food should just be food, I decided to go another route. A day before we left on vacation I found a recipe for granola bars and decided to try them. And man, was I happily surprised at the outcome. Even Adam said that those granola bars were the best granola bars he had ever had. And they contain ingredients you can pronounce without the preservatives or artifical flavors or several types of sugar hidden under the names of different ingredients. As a matter of fact, these granola bars only contain 5...yes, I said it...5 ingredients! And these ingredients may be ones that you already have at home. It took me about 15 minutes to make these granola bars from start to finish and it definately made my family happy.


Recipe:


1 cup dates, pitted (The BASE of the granola bar...you can find these at any grocery store located near the rainsin and plums)

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (I used honey I think the thicker consistency holds the granola bars together better)
1/4 cup peanut butter (I used salt and sugar free peanut butter from Giant Eagle. It tastes great!)
1 cup almonds, chopped (I used chopped unsalted peanuts because I don't like almonds, but you can choose any type of peanuts or none at all)

1 1/2 cups oats

Instructions:

1. Process dates in food processor to create a "dough-like" consistency

(these are the dates prior to processing. I used my VitaMix, but you can use any food processing machine.)

2. Toast oats in oven 350 degress F for 15 minutes (This is optional, but it does give the bars an added taste factor)
3. Combine oats, almonds, and dates in bowl (I washed my hands and went to town using my hands as the spoon. The force from your hands helps mix the mixture easier than a spoon.)
4. Warm honey and peanut butter in sauce pan over low heat. Stir and pour over date mixture and mix well. (Make sure to watch it so as to not burn the ingredients. Slight stirring is important, and the smell is amazing!)

5. Transfer to pan and smash mixture down to form granola bar. (You can use parchment paper under the mixture to get them up easier, but I did not have any issues getting the bars back out of the pan. In this stage you can make the granola bars as thick or thin as you want. I used an 8x13 glass pan but only filled up half of the pan in order to make thicker granola bars. Then I drizzled some extra peanut butter on top for just an extra touch. )

6. Set in fridge to harden 15-20 minutes (I put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Before I put them in the freezer I used a pizza cutter to cut the bars in advance because they are hard to cut after freezing. And in this stage you can cut them to look thinner and longer or in a square shape. Have fun with it! Freezing them just solidifies the bars. After I freeze them I kept them in an airtight container in the refrigerator as storage.)

I did make some alterations to this already easy recipe just to humor my own intentions. And the second time I made this granola bar recipe I did play with some of the ingredients just to make something different. Feel free to play with it yourself to make differing variations. You can feel free to add chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, raisins, any type of fruit, or anything else you can think of or want. Obviously the more you add in then the calories, sugar, salt, and fat will go up.

Health Benefits of Dates: 

Dates resemble large raisins and are one of the sweetest fruits around. But they have so many health benefits that are often overlooked when people do not include them in their diet. Dates are high in fiber. They contain 6.7 grams of fiber in 100g of dates which is 27% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). The high level of fiber, of course, helps relieve constipation and reduces risks of colitis, colon cancer, and hemorrhoids.  They also contain 696 mg of potassium per 100g which is 20% of the RDA. Potassium is important in a diet as it counteracts the effects of sodium. Because of this dates helps regulate blood pressure and the high level of potassium can help decrease high blood pressure. Dates boost heart health and they also ask an an anti-inflammatory due to the levels of magnesium they contain. Studies have also shown a reduction in stroke risk by 9% for every 100 mg of meagnesium a person consumes a day. A date contains 54 mg of magnesium per 100 g which is 14% RDA. For those of you trying for a baby or already pregnant dates have been discovered to impact labor and delivery outcomes. A study was done in 69 women that found that "the consumption of date fruit in the last 4 weeks before labor significantly reduced the need for induction and augmentation of labor, and produced a more favorable, but non-significant, delivery outcome." (NaturalSociety.com "Health Benefits of Dates - Promoting Heart, Brain, and Digestive Health" by Mike Barrett)

I appreciated the fact that dates can help with bone health and strength. The mixture of selenium, magnanese, copper, and magnesium are integral to healthy bone development and strength. My grandma has osteoporosis and my mom has osteopenia so of course, bone strength is something that I have been aware of for some time. Also the impressive levels of iron can help those who have anemia because the iron will balance out the lack of iron that anemia suffers have. This will help increase energy and strength, and decrease the feelings of fatigue and sluggishness. (www.organicfacts.net)

I highly recommend this recipe to anyone. If you have cranky kids, hungry husbands, or need a little pick-me-up yourself try them out! I promise you wont be disappointed. Its a husband tested and husband approved recipe!