Lola Granola Bars

This is a recipe from Food Network.  Commercially prepared granola bars have ingredients many of us try to avoid which are known to be not heart healthy.  This is a healthy choice!

Lola Granola Bars

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 2 cups oats
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup whole raw almonds, skin on
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 7- by 11-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

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In a bowl, stir the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, coconut, flax seed meal and cinnamon. Transfer to a dry sheet tray and toast in the oven for 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

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While dry ingredients toast, in a medium pot, add the honey, coconut oil and vanilla. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the honey turns a copper color, 12 to 15 minutes.

Pour the honey into the dry ingredients and mix until well coated with the honey mixture.

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Pour onto the prepared baking pan. Pack down the ingredients. Bake for about 10 minutes; the middle may seem slightly sticky but it will cool nicely. Let cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Flip over, take off the parchment and cut into rectangles. Serve.

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For other flavors, make the following substitutions to the recipe above:

Ruby (Cranberry): Omit the almonds and add an additional 1/4 cup dried cranberries.

Nathan (Blueberry/Almond): Substitute the cranberries with dried blueberries.

Enzo: (Cashew/Almond): Omit the cranberries and add 1/4 cup cashews to the dry ingredients.

Ellie (Cashew/Date): Substitute the almonds with cashews and substitute the cranberries with dried dates.