For a variety of reasons I won’t go into here, I have started packing lunches for my kids and husband every day.
When I decided to make the switch from school lunch to brown bagging, I sought the advice of PYP members in the forums. I was looking for wholesome, healthy, non processed options.
One suggestion I received was a Mark Bitman recipe for homemade granola bars.
They have been a huge hit! And I’ve made them so many times now that I can make them in my sleep.
I wanted to pass them on for others to enjoy.
I would guess that the approximate cost for a full recipe is about $2 for 16 bars.
Considering that I know exactly what’s in them (Nothing I can’t pronounce or identify!) and can customize them according to our tastes, I think that they are a good value.

Chewy Granola Bars
adapted from a Mark Bitman recipe

1/2 cup nut butter (almond or peanut)
1/2 cup honey
1 cup crispy rice cereal
1 cup oats (instant, quick or old fashioned)
1/2 chopped unsalted nuts and/or seeds (any combination you like)
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (any that you like)
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Place nut butter and honey in a small saucepan and heat over low heat just until melted enough to combine thoroughly with a whisk.

Lightly oil a 9X9 or 8X8 cake pan.
Center a piece of plastic wrap that is about 3 times the size of the pan over the pan and smooth it out to line the pan allowing the excess plastic wrap to hang over the sides.

Put the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the combined nut butter and honey. Stir gently until well combined.
Pour mixture into pan and distribute as evenly as possible with the spoon you used to stir with.
Now fold the plastic wrap over the mixture and press firmly and evenly into the pan.

Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Lift the plastic wrap and granola mixture from the pan all at once.
Place on cutting board and cut into 16 equal pieces.

At this point I like to wrap each bar in waxed paper and put them into the freezer. When I’m packing lunches I can just grab one and add it to the lunches. It thaws perfectly for lunch.

For this batch I used natural peanut butter, almonds, raw pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, apricots and cranberries. YUM!

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