Homemade granola bars

A friend of mine told me about Agave Nectar. I replaced my sugar with it. I am pre-diabetic and this stuff is 25% sweeter than sugar so you use much less and your body can process it better than sugar. I haven't made any granola bars with it yet, but it may be worth a try. Most grocery stores sell it in the sugar aisle.

i've never heard of this; have you bought it yet? what store did you find it at?

A friend of mine told me about Agave Nectar. I replaced my sugar with it. I am pre-diabetic and this stuff is 25% sweeter than sugar so you use much less and your body can process it better than sugar. I haven't made any granola bars with it yet, but it may be worth a try. Most grocery stores sell it in the sugar aisle.

i've never heard of this; have you bought it yet? what store did you find it at?

Here is my favorite homemade granola bar recipe. My family LOVES them!

My recipe... (I used whole wheat, less sugar and honey, more spice, less oil, and added applesauce and PB and omitted the raisins. You could also add some chocolate chips, nuts, or other dried fruit.)

Here's the link to the original recipe and I *tweaked* it to lower the cals and sugar.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Playgroup-Granola-Bars/Detail.aspx


Jess's Homemade Playgroup Granola Bars (listed in MFP database)

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup natural chunky peanut butter (optional)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, wheat germ, spices, and salt. In medium bowl, mix together the honey, egg, oil, applesauce, PB and vanilla. Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Stir well or mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. (I layered the pan w/ foil and sprayed Pam on a spatula to pack it down)

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut. (I just took the foil out of the pan and cut them into 24 bars w/ a pizza cutter.)

Nutrition Facts
Jess's Homemade - Playgroup Granola Bars

Servings: 1 bar 1 container (24 bars ea.)

Calories 85
Sodium 3 mg
Total Fat 3 g
Potassium 25 mg
Saturated 2 g
Total Carbs 14 g
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Sugars 4 g
Trans 0 g
Protein 2 g
Cholesterol 8 mg
Vitamin A 1%
Calcium 1%
Vitamin C 1%
Iron 3%