My husband challenged me to come up with a recipe for a healthier breakfast bar (low in sugar and low fat). I searched the Internet and found a base recipe, then altered it over the months. The below is my favorite version as it’s lightly sweet and a little salty (a nice balance), but we have tried it with peanut butter and it was pretty good too. If you do try it with peanut butter, try 1/3 cup to begin with then reduce the amount of oil and the amount of salt by half.
Ingredients
2/3 Cup Canola Oil
4 Cups Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1-Teaspoon Salt
½ Cup Honey (obviously the bar will be sweeter if you use more honey, but more honey will also help the bar to stick together better / be less crumbly)
3 Teaspoons Vanilla
Canola Cooking Spray
Optional Ingredients
¼ Cup Chocolate Chips
¼ Cup Dried Berries (Cherries or Cranberries)
¼ Cup Sliced, Slivered or Chopped Almonds
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix the Oats, Salt and any Optional Ingredients (chips, dried fruit, nuts).
Add the Oil, Vanilla and Honey and mix well.
Press the breakfast bar mix firmly into the 9 x 13 pan.
Place in oven and cook for 10-12 minutes.
Allow to cool, then place in refrigerator so that they harden some more.
After bars are cool and firm, cut into small squares then wrap them individually so that they can be taken “to-go.” Store in refrigerator (they tend to get crumbly once they reach room temperature).