Granola Bars. Chewy, oh so yummy goodness.

A few weeks ago the husband saw Fresh! (the "sequel" to Food, Inc.) and came home with the declaration that our house should be completely pre-packaged boxed goods free from now on.  We've already gone the route of abstaining from buying any bread product (well, other than fresh tortillas, I must draw the line somewhere!), and we keep the house primarily organic and buy local where we can. Even though as it is we barely buy processed goods, making all our breads/muffins/pitas/pizza's AND everything else like practically ALL our snack foods, well, that's going to take a bit more effort and planning on my part. But, hey, I'm up to the challenge. It really does cut down on waste product for the environment, and is definitely healthier for the family, so here we go.

Anywho, all that to say, I was going a little nusto without my prior staple FiberOne Bars.  Luckily a few FB friends posted about this granola bar recipe from Smitten Kitchen.  Thank you God.  They are absolutely delicious!  Thick and chewy, hearty, and totally customizable to your taste preference.  I'm going to make ten batches and freeze a bunch.  The hardest part is waiting for the pan to cool so you can cut into them.  Then, of course, having to keep your hands off them so they last more than a day..

The best granola bar recipe I have ever tried.  Do it, make these if you haven't already! 

Here was my favorite customization:
For the 2-3 cups dried fruit and nuts I used-

• 1/4c roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/4c pecans, unsalted (I chopped these a bit)
• 1/4c walnuts, raw (I chopped these a bit)
• 1/4c flax seeds
• 1/2c dried cranberries
• 1/2c shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1/2c dark chocolate chips

And then for the liquids, I used-

• coconut oil instead of the butter
• 2T. honey
• 1t. vanilla

I put in the rolled oat, oat flour, salt, cinnamon, and water as specified, used only 1/2c of the sugar, and I added 1/4c of roasted almond butter.