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Homemade Healthy Fruit and Nutty (granola) Protein Bars Recipe

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I don’t know about you but with the hot summer months, I’m not a fan of large meals and I don’t tend to have a sweet tooth.  That’s why I’m sharing this super easy, healthy and tasty fruit and nut bar recipe which has dried fruit and nuts and no chocolate in this bar recipe…sorry :(.  And let’s face it, nuts and dried fruit are much better than ice cream as they are all protein based (mostly).

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Homemade Granola with Dried Fruit

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I Love…love…luv granola!  The funny thing is I didn’t grow up eating granola and really never appreciated it until I took a cooking class 7 or 8 years ago.  Once I saw how easy it was to make, I was sold.  I gave it away to neighbors for holiday gifts or friends just because.  I find granola to be a great comfort snack, it’s simple enough to grab a handful and get a light pick me up in the afternoon or you can use it for a healthy breakfast in a parfait, it can be sprinkled in hot oatmeal.  If you put some in your favorite muffin mix, it makes a simple muffin into a new creation.  You can even sprinkle it on top of ice cream.

It’s so easy to make, now that I know how and you will find it easy to make as well.  First you simply put your oatmeal, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts, cinnamon, vanilla extract & salt in a bowl and toss.

Then you put your syrup and sugars in a pan to melt.  Once it’s all melted you pour the now liquid on top of your mixed oats and then you bake.  I tend to bake in 10 minute increments until I get the color I like.

You can see how in 30 minutes of baking where it starts off and how it looks completed.  When the granola is no longer moist and it’s reached the color I like, I remove it from the oven and I put the fruit on top.  If you bake the granola and put the fruit in and then bake it, the fruit will burn and you will have to start over so wait until the end so you don’t dry out your fruit.

I hope you enjoy this granola, it’s one of my favorites!

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Fruity Granola

Ingredients

  • 4 cups Old fashion oats
  • 1/4 cup Sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup Sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup Walnuts, chopped (or your favorite nuts)
  • 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup Brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup Oil (not olive oil)
  • 1/2 cup Maple syrup
  • 1 cup Coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup Mango, dried and cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup Blueberries, dried (or another favorite fruit)
  • 1/2 cup Cranberries, dried

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine your oats, sesame seed, sunflower seeds, nuts, cinnamon, salt and vanilla extract. You can toss lightly.
  2. In a sauce pan, place your brown sugar, your maple syrup and oil and cook until all the sugar is dissolved. Toss into your large bowl of oats.
  3. Place your mixture on a baking sheet (you can line it with parchment paper or not) and bake for 10 minutes. While your oats are baking you can cut up your mango and measure out your fruit.
  4. Remove the granola from the oven, toss the granola, add your coconut and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Toss again and bake for another 10 minutes or until you get a golden color and is no longer moist. Remove from the oven and place your dried fruit on top.
  5. Once the granola has cooled completely, you can place in a container.
  6. While I may have suggested the nuts and dried fruits, you can add any type of nuts or dried fruits.
https://mmgood.com/fruity-granola/