Homemade Granola "Bites"

Greetings, all! Hope everyone is doing well. I'm back from sunny CA where temperatures were in the 60's during the day....this bitter cold weather in Boston is a shock to the system, I tell ya! We had a great time running the Surf City half marathon (below is a picture of my sister and me after the race :)) and seeing some of the sites on the west coast. And now it's back to reality! And you know what that means...another yummy Barbershop treat for you!

I made homemade granola bars (or "bites" - you'll see why I call them bites later on) to bring along on our trip because I actually forgot to buy some granola bars at the store to bring! Luckily I had all the necessary ingredients on hand, so I whipped up a batch before we left. I decided to use the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa's recipe for homemade granola bars since it received such high ratings online. I would have to agree with the ratings too, as these were quite the delicious snack!

To start, in the oven, you toast oatmeal, almonds, coconut. Meanwhile, on the stove, cook the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt (note: I did not have quite enough honey so I used molasses to make up the difference).

Once the toasted mixture of dry ingredients come out of the oven, you combine them with the liquid mixture just cooked on the stove...I also added flaxseeds (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 cup). You can see them in the bottom of the dish below!

And the rest of the dry ingredients...

Once that mixture is well coated with the liquid mixture, add your other ingredients. The recipe I followed calls for dried cranberries, chopped dates, and chopped apricots... I added some craisins that I had on hand (but it was probably only 1/3 cup or so) and some chopped dates. I did not have apricots though. As a substitute for the items I didn't have, I added sunflower seeds and chocolate chips. :-D I figured chocolate would be a great addition. Wouldn't you agree? Oh, I also forgot to mention that I did not add wheat germ since I didn't have it on hand.

Once all the ingredients are well-combined, everything gets baked in a 13 x 9 pan at 300 degrees. The recipe says to bake it for 25 to 30 minutes, but mine was a nice golden brown after just 20 minutes so check yours early!

Pre-baking...

Post-baking!

The mixture needs to cool for at least 2 or 3 hours, so feel free to spend that time doing something else fun or productive while you wait. ;-)

I read some of the online reviews of this recipe that it was difficult to cut them into bars. I tried to at first but also found it challenging to cut them evenly... So instead, I just broke them into pieces of various sizes with my hands. I think I'll call them granola "bites" as a result. They're a bit more fun sounding that way too, don't you think?! No matter the shape, they're super tasty - I promise!

These granola bites are definitely on the crunchy side, so if you're expecting a chewy texture you'll be surprised! I looooved the flavor combo of the different ingredients added...craisins, coconut, almonds, chocolate, etc. Delicious! Unfortunately, the recipe online did not provide nutritional stats, so I can't tell you how many calories, grams of fat, etc. are in these. However, most of the add-in ingredients have great nutritional value on their own (e.g., dates, oatmeal, almonds) so I think these can certainly be a guilt-free snack. ;-) We definitely enjoyed them on our trip! They helped us run FAST in our race, I'm convinced of it!!!

See you again soon!

Healthy Homemade Vanilla Orange Granola

How good does that sound?! The first two words, healthy and homemade, are enough to capture me...but then you add vanilla, orange, and granola. Yum!!!! I've only made homemade granola once before, and that was pre-blogging. The first time I made it I used the recipe I'm about to share with you; luckily I saved it in my "Food & Recipes" folder of my email so that I could make it again! If you're a fan of granola, I really think you'll like this recipe. It is soooo darn easy, and it's also fun because it's the type of recipe that you can really make your own! There are endless potential ingredients to add to granola, so you might never actually make the same recipe twice. I like that...the Barbershop is all about switching it up and making a recipe your own! :)

Alrightie, down to business. Click here to see the recipe I followed. As you can see, the title of the recipe on the website is low-fat, low-sugar homemade vanilla orange granola. Ya gotta love the low fat and sugar! Even though I just provided the link to the recipe, I'll share with you the actual ingredients I used today. The measurements for everything but the vanilla and cinnamon are approximate...I didn't actually measure! The Barbershop is living on the edge... 

-3 cups old-fashioned oats

-1/4 cup flaxseeds

-1/4 cup wheat germ

-1/3 to 1/2 cup slivered almonds

-1/3 to 1/2 cup wildflower honey

-1/3 to 1/2 cup orange juice

-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 tsp. cinnamon

-1/4 to 1/3 cup raisins

-1/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine the orange juice, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon in a small saucepan on the stove; heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the honey has melted. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flaxseeds, wheat germ, and almonds. I did not add the raisins and coconut at this point.

Pour the orange-honey mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir well until the oats mixture is coated. Spread this mixture in a thin layer on an ungreased baking sheet (one with sides is helpful!).

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring at least once at the 15 minute mark. When there is approximately 10 minutes left of baking time, stir in the coconut and raisins.

I ended up stirring the granola three or four times during the baking. Using a pan with sides is helpful so that you don't lose any precious granola while you're stirring! Oh, and I also wanted to mention how amazing your kitchen will smell when you're making this granola... The orange, honey, and cinnamon cooking on the stove smell wonderful together, and then that delicious aroma continues as the granola bakes. You'd better prepare your nose for a pleasant experience with this recipe. :)

 Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container. 

Now, the next step is to enjoy the granola however you'd like! I chose to have an afternoon snack of some Dannon light n' fit vanilla yogurt with about 1/4 cup of granola mixed in, as you can see here. Deeelish! 

Maybe you'd like to eat your granola like cereal with some milk? How about sprinkling some on ice cream? Mmmm. Or, what about using it as your topping the next time you make apple crisp? Maybe you'd just like to snack on it as is! However you like to enjoy your granola, go for it.... :)

Other ideas for ingredients to include?! Craisins would be yummy, as would other types of dried fruit bits (pineapples, apricots, apples, etc.). Want to make your granola a bit sweeter? Try adding some chocolate or peanut butter chips at the very end of the baking... Switch up the nuts you use too; I chose to use almonds because I had them on hand, but maybe you'd prefer pecans or walnuts. Oh, sunflower seeds would probably be a yummy addition too! Remember what I said earlier? The possibilities are endless!

I almost forgot to mention that you should definitely check out the nutrition facts for this granola; they're listed online at the link I provided above. They allow you to enjoy this tasty treat without the guilt, and you're also getting some important nutrients at the same time! ;-)