Low Calories.Homemade Bars.

Is one of your new year's resolutions to eat healthier snacks? Instead of reaching for that processed granola bar that seems like a healthy snack, why don't you try one of these            Homemade Granola Bars. 

These bars are loaded with healthy, nutritious ingredients, and make for a healthy and filling snack.

The ingredients are all whole, natural ingredients including whole oats, dried fruit, pure maple syrup, and sliced almonds. Plus, they are really quite simple to throw together. The first thing you need to do is gather the ingredients. For these low calorie granola bars, you will need :

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
 3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
(maple syrup=sold as pancake syrup, must be labeled and generally is made of mostly corn syrup with 2 or 3 percent of pure maple syrup.)
2 egg whites
1 whole egg
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp wheat germ
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt.

Follow 6 SIMPLE STEPS:

1.) You will grind a part of the rolled oats into a sort of oat flour. Mixed with the wet ingredients, this will act as a sort of glue to hold the granola bars together. In a blender or food processor, place 1/2 cup of the rolled oats. Process on a high speed for about five to ten seconds, until the oats resemble a course flour. Set the oat flour aside until it is time to combine all of the ingredients. Now would also be a good time to make sure that you turn your oven on to preheat. Preheat to 325°F. 

2.) Use a sharp, large knife to coursely chop the raisins. To do this, simply place the raisins on a cutting board, and cut through the pile of raisins just a few times. If preferred, other types of dried fruit could be used in place of the raisins as well. Other good choices include dried apricots, dried cherries, dried cranberries, or dried berries. A combination of several dried fruits added up the 3/4 cup total of dried fruit could be used as well.

3.) Next you will combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. First, add the rolled oats, the blended oat flour, the almonds, chopped raisins, brown sugar, wheat germ, and salt. Combine the ingredients well. Then, in a small dish, combine the egg and the two separated egg whites. Use a fork to whisk the eggs lightly. Then add the maple syrup and the vanilla to the egg mixture and combine well. Pour the egg mixture into the oat mixture, and use a fork to combine the mixture until all of the dry ingredients are moistened.

4.) Now the mixture is ready to be pressed into a baking dish. Coat an 8x10 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Then, spoon the oat mixture into the pan. Use the back of a large spoon, or your fingers to press the mixture firmly into the baking dish. Make sure that the mixture is evenly distributed in the pan.

5.) Place the baking dish in the oven, and bake at 325°F for 25 minutes, or until the edges of the granola bars begin to brown lightly. When the granola bars are finished, remove from the oven, and allow the bars to cool in the pan for about five minutes. Then, turn out what is now a baked patty onto a wire cooling rack, and allow it to cool completely.

6.) Finally, using a large, sharp knife, cut the patty in half lengthwise. Then cut each half into six strips, making a total of twelve granola bars. Store any granola bars that won't be served right away in an airtight container for up to one week.

                                                                     Makes 12 Bars

  Per Serving: Calories 161,

Fat 4.6 grams, 

Protein 5 grams, 

Carbs 27 grams, 

Fiber 3 grams.

                                GOOD LUCK MY MODELICIOUSBITES FOLLOWERS!!!xxx