Home-Made Granola Bars

This is one recipe you'll keep and come back to again and again. I should know - I've made it over a dozen times, and each time it comes out a little different, all depending on what ingredients I have on hand. That's the beauty of it, you raid you pantry and use whatever you have on hand to make delicious, healthy snack bars. 

Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients

3 cups oats

3 cups "mix"

1 can unsweetened, low fat condensed milk

EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

The "Mix" can be anything your heart desires: 

Raid your pantry & end up with delicious, healthy granola bars!

-Dried fruits/nuts

-Seeds

-Chocolate chips

-Cocoa 

-Peanut/almond butter (if you use this as an ingredient, omit the EVOO in the main recipe)

The "mix" should total 3 cups, but I often use 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup measures to incorporate a large variety of ingredients.

For the bars pictured, I used 1 cup of chocolate chips mixed with peanut butter chips, 1 cup total of nuts/seeds: ground flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and chopped almonds, 1/2 cup of craisins, 1/4 cup of coacoa powder and 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Because the peanut butter is oily and sticky, I omitted the EVOO this time around.

1. Preheat oven to 325°
2. Cover large cookie sheet with parchment paper
3. Combine oats, mix, and condensed milk. Fill up the can of condensed milk 1/2 full with EVOO and pour it into mix (omit if using peanut butter as part of your mix). 
4. Turn mix onto cookie sheet covered with parchment. 
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are golden. 
6. Let stand for 5 minutes
7. Cut into bars with a pizza cutter
8. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week (can last a few days out of the fridge). 

Enjoy, and have fun coming up with all the possibilities!
A special thanks to my aunt Kim and cousin Gen for sharing this recipe with me :)

If you use cocoa as part of your mix, your bars will have a chocolate brown hue

Sweet with Heat Summer Tea

Somewhere, somewhere, I have caught a terrible summer cold. Monday my throat was the Sahara, and by Tuesday morning, I felt like I had swallowed a couple of razor blades. I rarely get sick - but this cold knocked me off my feet: coughing, sneezing, sinus congestion, the works.

So for the past week, I haven't craved coffee, but instead, a soothing tea. One of my friends recommended these ingredients as beneficial for a sore throat (thank you Rosemary!) and it's now my go-to drink this week. I omitted the fresh ginger that she recommended, but feel free to add it should you desire. It sounds a little less than appetizing, but I guarantee that a few sips in, your throat will thank you!

Sweet with Heat Summer Tea - for colds

3 tsp honey (I used Canada no. 1 organic)

3 tsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed always preferred, but refrigerated will do)

1 pinch of cayenne pepper (2 if you're feeling adventurous!)

Doesn't it look like a gorgeous lemon drop?

Add all ingredients to your mug, pour boiling water overtop, and stir well. The cayenne may settle out, so keep the spoon at hand, or you'll have a little "surprise ending." 

Enjoy - rest, with lots of fluids and comfort foods ("feed a cold, starve a fever", right?)

Stephanie