recipe roundup: snack time

Around here we try really hard to eat as much "real food"--as in, not processed--as we can. We are not an all-organic, of-the-earth, vegan type of family (although I'd probably be more like that if it wasn't for budget constraints!) but we do what we can and my preference is to limit processed foods as much as I can. That's why I was so excited when I finally got around to trying out homemade granola bars for Josh this week and he gave them an A+! I'm actually not a huge fan of granola bars, but the man of the house can put.them.away. He's always been a fan of the Quaker Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip ones, and he usually takes a couple of them to work every day as part of his lunch/snack routine. I've always wanted to make them homemade and never got around to it, but recently the good people at Quaker lit a fire under me when they decided to reduce the number of bars in the box from 10 to 8 and still charge $2.99 per box. I perused the Internet--which basically means I googled "homemade granola bars" and looked at the first 5 recipes--and then came up with my own version based on what I read. I held my breath when Josh tasted my creation, and was so happy when he announced that they were better than his Quaker loves and that I can officially mark those off my weekly grocery list. Yay! You could certainly make all kinds of substitutions and additions to this in order to make them your own favorite flavor. And, no, they are not entirely free of processed goodies, but they are certainly better than the corn syrup-laden alternative!

Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 C rice krispies
• 1 cup whole wheat  flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 C ground flax seed 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 C peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 c agave nectar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 c large milk choc chips
• 1/2 c peanuts
• 
  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter,peanut butter, honey, agave, and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups assorted chocolate chips, and peanuts Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing.