Customizable Granola Bars - A Great Addition to Your Child's Lunch Bag!

Recently I've been trying to make a lot more items that I commonly find in my pantry from scratch.  The main reason being that usually the items I make are much healthier; I know exactly what is in them and there is less added sugar, preservatives, and refined ingredients - how many times have you read the ingredient list on your favourite snack and asked...What is that?  Plus, I am easily able to adapt recipes to fit my family's desires (e.g. more whole grains, etc.) 

Granola Bars

Ingredients:

• 4 cups oatmeal (I use a porridge mix that contains oats, oat bran, wheat bran, and flax seed, but plain quick oats works just fine!)
• 1 ¼ cups white flour 
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour 
• 1 cup coconut
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup oil (coconut, vegetable, canola oil, olive oil, etc. work well)
• ¼ cup applesauce 
• ¾ cup honey 
• Customizable extras: chocolate chips, dried cranberries/cherries/raisins, seeds, nuts, etc. 
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Directions:

1. 1. Mix dry ingredients together well.
2. 2. Add wet ingredients.
3. 3. Mix well with your hands until it is well blended and sticks together. Mixing with a mixer or a spoon won't get the same results; they'll turn out crumbly.
4. 4. Add customizable extras.
5. 5. Press firmly into a cookie sheet or a jelly roll pan
6. 6. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes. The granola bars will look a bit puffy when done.  Try and take them out before they brown to ensure they are the right texture (not too hard).
7. 7. Cut into squares or bars shortly after you remove them from the oven.
8. 8. Enjoy with a cup of coffee, or wrap in wax paper and send them to school with your kids in their bagged lunch!