Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

When John and I first got married he was all about Pop tarts and corn syrup laden chewy granola bars (chocolate chip of course).  This made a little bit of sense because he was always eating his breakfast on the go and needed something quick to grab.  Now I have to admit, although I rarely (and I mean very very rare) eat them, I do love myself a good brown sugar cinnamon pop tart.  There's just something about them.  I need to find a recipe for a homemade poptart...I hear they make them at Vanilla Pastry Studio and they are absolutely delicious.  However, I haven't tried them myself.

But anyway,  I wanted to come up with healthy alternatives to grabbing these easy prepackaged, extremely processed breakfast foods.  So our freezer is constantly stocked with homemade Muffins, and these granola bars for John to grab on his way out the door.  It all lasts about a month, and can move them out of the freezer the night before so they are ready to eat in the morning.  Now John says he will never eat a Pop tart again...we'll see.

After looking at several recipes for chewy granola bars, I kinda added different parts of each together and added my own touches, and came up with these:

Chewy Granola Bars

-3 c rolled oats
-1/2 c oat bran
-1/4 c ground flax seed
-3 scoops chocolate protein powder (you can omit this, I just add it for John's sake)
-1/4 c butter
-3 big spoonfuls applesauce
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 tbsp canola oil
-1/4-1/2 c sunflower kernels
-1/4-1/2 c almonds
-1 c chocolate chips
-1 c raisins
-enough honey that it all sticks together and is no longer dry (about 1/2 cup)

Mix all ingredients together.  stir well.  Press into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees.  After ten minutes take out, cover with wax paper, put two hot pads on top and press it down.

 Remove wax paper and hot pads and bake for 10 more minutes.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, cut into squares, and cool completely before removing granola bars.

When it comes to the nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips, you can really add whatever you want.  Omit the chocolate chips and add another dried fruit to make it healthier.  Omit the buts all together or try different kinds.  The possibilities are endless.