Friday, October 31, 2008

Experiments with Granola Bars

I've been easing into a wheat-free and refined sugar-free diet over the last several weeks. So far it seems to have eased my chronic and mysterious joint problems and I think it's worth sticking with.

I've adapted a granola bar recipe with some great success and I thought I would share it with you. As long as you keep the gooey/sticky proportions roughly the same you can experiment with substitutions, which is how I came up with this:

1/2 c. pumpkin puree (best homemade so there aren't any weird things added)
2/3 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. molasses
1/3 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. oats
1/2 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 c. unsalted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
1/3 c. raisins, chopped dried apricots, or dried cranberries
1/3 c. wheat germ (optional, if you aren't worried about eating wheat)
1 TBSP sesame seeds
1 TBSP flax seeds
1/2 c. carob chips.

Mix in order given. Press into 9x13 baking pan (you can use a cookie sheet but I think they bake more evenly in a pan that you'd make brownies in). Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until it starts to brown around the edges. Cut into squares while still warm.

Does anyone else have delicious wheat-free and refined sugar-free recipes to share with me?

1 comment:

Yessss. Megan said...

I *just* made granola bars last night, should have remembered you had this blog first!