Banana Oat Cranberry Bars

This was my second attempt at making these cereal bars! And I promised myself that I will never buy them from the store ever again. The fun with any kind of homemade food is that you can completely alter it to your taste and this is exactly the reason that I keep attempting , sometimes getting better, sometimes not so much! I totally enjoy the whole process and the results is not what I look forward to anymore.

First time I made them for our Bay Area trip and this time was for the Vancouver weekend get-away!
They are easy to carry as a snack anytime you travel. They have a good shelf life. I think they should last for 2-3 days even in the bright sun. My kid loved it, and munched on it at least twice both the days of our trip..:)

Here is what you will need-:

• 1/4th cup Almond milk or soy milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1tbsp flax seed
• 1/4th cup coconut oil
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2 medium ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup of cranberries/ pumpkin seeds etc.
• 2 tbsp of Chia seeds soaked overnight into 2 tbsp of almond milk/ soy milk
• 1.5 cups of regular oats
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4th cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt

Method-:

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Combine sugar, flax seed, almond milk , coconut oil, vanilla extract and whisk together.Keep aside.
• Mash bananas with a fork and stir into wet mixture. Also add cranberries, pumpkin seeds, soaked Chia seeds.
• In other bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.(Oats, wheat flour, shredded coconut, flax seed, cinnamon powder, baking powder and salt)

My little helper- mixing the cranberries and eating half of them while mixing..:)

• Add the wet mixture to dry mixture and mix.
• Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper and spray lightly with a canola oil spray.
• Scoop out on to the pan and press firmly making it even.

Serious work is in progress, no jokes please...!

Before jumping into oven!

• Bake at 350F for 35- 40 minutes.

After popping out of the oven!

• Let it cool and slice into bars. It will make about 10 bars depending on how thick you spread the mixture. The first time I made them, they came out to be 10. This time I think I spread them a little thinner and they came out 12 with more crunch to them because of the thinness.

Recipe source-: http://ohsheglows.com/2010/12/24/healthy-banana-cranberry-oat-bars/

Homemade Granola

Nothing like crunchy granola in your cereal or as a yogurt topping or just as a snack on the go.Super easy and super fun to make your own granola! Once in a while I do buy from the store but most of the times I prefer to make my own. You can totally customize it to your taste. Considering my son's allergies, I find it easy to make my own instead of reading labels on the back of the granola pack. That way I have the whole control over what's going in and I also get to modify it the next time if I don't like what I added this time. Super flexible isn't it?

Here is what you will need-:

•  3 cups of rolled oats
• 3/4th cup agave
• 4 tbsp water
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract/ almond extract
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup of mixed dry fruit- I used dried blueberries and golden raisins
• 1/4 cup of sliced almonds

Feel free to add anything else you like. Chopped walnuts or pecans is a great substitute for almonds. You can add dried papaya or any other dry fruit you may like.

Method-:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread the oats on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Remember to stir twice in between.
• Mix agave, water, vanilla extract or whichever extract you are using in a bowl. Add toasted oats, sesame seeds, and dry fruits and almonds.
• Mix well and spread over the baking sheet and bake for 15 more minutes, stirring twice in between.
• Let it cool and munch on some while still kind of hot...:)

Just few more captures that I enjoyed clicking..:)

Let them spill a bit!!