Searching for Snacks

As a member of our modern society I have come to realize that alot of what drives us is convenience.  We want quicker everything, and we are certainly willing to pay for this convenience, monetarily at least.  The question, however, is in what other ways are we paying for convenience? Well, the answer couldn't be more glaringly obvious: our health.  With over 70% of our Nation's populace being considered over weight, and the concurrent increases of weight related illness; diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, it becomes apparent we are paying a much higher cost than we really like to admit.  What frightens me the most, though, is that as adults we can make these decisions for ourselves.  We can choose to sacrifice nutrition for convenience, but what about our kids?  Stop to think for a moment.  The food choices we make for ourselves are also the food choices we are making for our kids, the food choices we are training our kids to make for themselves.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am as guilty of this as the next person.  I am starting, though, to make small changes here and there to try to get my family back on track.  If you've been keeping up with my posts, you will notice that I have become a strong proponent of home cooking.  No, I don't mean opening up a box of hamburger helper.  I mean getting back to our roots and making real food.  Granted, I am still a slave to modern convenience, so I am not going to make my own pasta or tomato paste, but the point is to try to get as close to scratch as possible.

So, today, I am going to share a recipe that my mom discovered in a 2009 Good Housekeeping magazine.  At first, I have to admit, I thought these would taste like cardboard, after all, there is hardly anything in them to add flavor besides natural ingredients!  Who'd have thunk it?

Granola Bars
adapted from Good Housekeeping

Ingredients

• 2 cup(s) old-fashioned oats (I like the rolled oats from the bins at Whole Foods, they are heartier and chewier than the overprocessed quick oats)
• 3/4 cup(s) toasted wheat germ
• 3/4 cup(s) chopped walnuts (or whatever, I know some ppl are sensitive to walnuts)
• 3/4 cup(s) dried cranberries (or cherries, pinapple, coconut, just try to get dried fruits that are sugar and sulfate free, yes they are more expensive, but SO much better for you)
• 2 tablespoon(s) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon (you may omit this if cinammon won't mesh well with your fruit choice)
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 cup(s) honey
• 1/2 cup(s) vegetable oil
• 2 large egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Spray 13" by 9" metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line pan with foil, with ends extending 2 inches over short sides of pan; spray foil.
2. In glass pie plate, spread oats; microwave on High, in 1-minute increments, 4 to 5 minutes or until fragrant and golden, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature.
3. In large bowl, combine oats, wheat germ, walnuts, cranberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in honey, oil, and egg whites until well mixed. Transfer to prepared pan. Using wet hand, press into even layer.
4. Bake 32 to 35 minutes or until dark golden. Cool in pan on wire rack.
5. When cool, use foil to transfer to cutting board. Cut lengthwise into 6 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into thirds. (You should have roughly 4 1/4" by 1 1/2" bars.) Store in tightly sealed container at room temperature up to 1 week, or in freezer up to 1 month.

Okay, so I LOVE these, and they keep really well.  I have also tried mixing up the flavors a bit.  My personal favorite at the moment is to get dried pinapple, shredded coconut, and chopped macademia nuts and make Hawaiian style Granola Bars, just leave out the cinammon if you are going to make this combo.

Happy Snacking!