Healthy Homemade Granola Bars

One of the hardest things I have had to change since we started eating healthier while eating more real food, is change our snacking habits. Before, it was way too easy to eat a few chips, a few crackers, a bowl of ice cream, or a slice of dessert. A 4th meal was a way of living in our home!

I haven’t necessarily done away with all of those things, but when I need to grab a quick snack, I am learning that I eat what is in the cupboards. If I don’t want to eat chips, then the simple fix and fact is just to not buy them. If I want a granola bar, a quick grab and go snack, well, then I better stock them. The only thing that was getting to me was how processed granola bars were.

I decided to hunt down a good recipe for homemade granola bars, and with a little tweaking, I was able to put together a recipe that I love! This recipe is adapted from Cookie+Kate. Even my husband can’t keep his hands out of them (that says something). When it comes to eating healthier, it is easy to sacrifice taste because of the lack certain ingredients. I have found my real food cooking needs some work yet, but with this recipe, there is absolutely no lack in taste!

This recipe makes about 14-16 bars, but I have to admit, it has not taken us 14-16 servings to eat them. We may have one OR two bars in one sitting. We just can’t help ourselves! So maybe that is just one more thing we need to work on – portion control. Until then…

Enjoy!

Healthy Homemade Granola Bars {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 c.quick-cooking oats 
• 1 1/3 c. sliced or slivered almonds
• 2/3 c. chocolate chips (can use mini and dark c.c.)
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. honey (or 1/4 c. molasses)
• 1 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract