Recipe for Fruit and Nut Bars: Make Easy Chewy Granola Bars

 These chewy granola bars are full of nutritious fruit and nuts. They make a great breakfast option for families on the go.

 Granola bars can be healthy, especially if they are homemade. This recipe is simple, uses no eggs or butter and yields more than a dozen fruit and nut bars. It also has a fun twist in that it uses pumpkin which is full of fiber and vitamin A. Making healthy breakfast bars for your family has never tasted so good.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Steel Cut Old Fashioned Oats (not quick oats)
• 1/2 cup Almond flour or lightly crushed almonds
• 1/2 cup Ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 3/4 cup Brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1/4 cup Unsweetened natural applesauce
• 1/4 cup Honey
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup Dried fruit of your choice

A Note on Granola Bar Nutrition

Before getting into how these fruit and nut bars are made, let's talk about some of the ingredients, which may be unfamiliar to people.

While everyone knows what oatmeal is, most of us are familiar with 'quick cook' or 'instant' oats. These are okay in this recipe and can be used if that is all that is available, but the center of the bars will be a little mushy. The steel cut 'old fashioned' oats offer better texture. Regardless of the type, oats help lower cholesterol as well as contain iron and fiber.

With regards to the pumpkin, it adds a nice flavor in combination with the cinnamon. Perfect for Fall and an excellent way to add Vitamin A to an already healthy recipe.

Almonds are a heart healthy source of protein, fiber and fat. Almond flour is simply finely ground almonds. It is possible to make almond flour at home with a food processor, although the nuts closest to the blade will actually have a peanut butter like consistency (i.e. homemade almond butter). Almond flour can also be purchased in stores or online and keeps best in the fridge.

Ground flax provides fiber and Omega-3 fats that support heart health. Flax is commonly found in grocery stores in the natural food or gluten free food section. They also keep best in the fridge.

Due to their fat content, both ground flax and almond flour can go rancid. A quick sniff test can determine if they are still good or not. If they've gone bad, they will smell bad, like rotten fish. If they are fine, they will have no discernible odor.

A quick tip: To use up leftover flax and almond flour, just add 1/2 cup to any baking recipe to boost fiber and protein content.

Instructions

1. Mix oatmeal, almond flour, flax, spices and salt together in one bowl and set aside.
2. In another bowl, mix the sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla.
3. Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix.
4. Add chocolate chips and dried fruit and stir.
5. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. Note: A jelly roll pan could be used as well for thinner bars, just fill about 3/4 of the pan.
6. Press batter into pan.
7. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
8. Once done, cut bars and remove from pan to cool.

Wrap in wax paper and secure with a decorative sticker or simply put in a plastic bag for on-the-go snacking. These fruit and nut bars are full of fiber, vitamins and good fats that will give the whole family the energy they need to get through the day.