31 for 21: Fruit & Nut Granola Bars

Being so versatile, granola bars are very allergy friendly. These are even GAPS approved.

Homemade crunchy, chewy and slightly sweet granola bars - easy, versatile, healthy and portable. Here's a no-bake recipe I created.

Fruit and Nut Granola Bars
Hanunyah Creation
(Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined Sugar-free, Grain-free, Corn-free)

3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup natural peanut butter, optional
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups nuts and seeds
1 cup raisins

1. In a medium sized saucepan, bring the honey to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

2. Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter, cinnamon, nuts and raisins and mix well.

3. Spread into a greased 6x11 inch pan. Cool and cut into 16 bars.

Notes:
This granola bar recipe is very versatile.
- You can use any mixture of nuts (chopped or whole) and/or seeds, and any mixture of raisins and/or dried fruit. (Remember to check ingredient labels, because some dried fruits have added ingredients). You could play around with adding different spices and extracts, and even other syrups instead of honey.
I recommend wrapping these individually, as they kinda stick together otherwise.


~ Hanunyah

31 for 21 is a blog challenge to raise Down Syndrome awareness 1 blog at a time. The challenge is to blog everyday the whole month of October (31 days) to raise awareness for Down Syndrome (aka Trisomy 21). This is the 6th Annual 31 for 31 Challenge.

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Wheat-Free Wednesday @ Anne-Marie Cain
Allergy-Free Wednesdays @ The Tasty Alternative and 6 other blogs
Gluten-free Fridays @ Vegetarian Mama and 2 other blogs

31 for 21: Brown Sugar Spice Granola

Since being gone all day @ soccer, and not being sure what to post, I whipped this up for a couple of my siblings (who wanted granola anyway). Why not post it here?

This is a quick, nice and crunchy granola with caramelized brown sugar and spices.

~ Maybe something a bit more exciting tomorrow ;).

Brown Sugar Spice Granola

Hanunyah Creation

3 cups oats*

2 cups dried fruits and nuts (optional)

1/4 cup brown sugar**

1/4 cup oil

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

2/3 cup raisins (If we don't have any on hand I make it without)

Combine al

l ingredients except raisins; mix well. Cook in ungreased 11x7-inch baking dish (or any large glass bowl, etc.) in microwave oven at HIGH 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown, stirring between 1 minute intervals of cooking; stir in raisins.

Conventional Oven Directions:

Combine all ingredients except raisins in ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan; mix well. Bake in preheated moderate oven (350 F.) 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally; stir in raisins. Cool thoroughly; store in tightly covered container in cool dry place or in refrigerator.

Notes:

*Be sure to use gluten-free oats.

**You may find that 1/4 cup of brown sugar is too sweet. Cut back as desired.

~ Hanunyah

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31 for 21: Healthy Granola Bars

This morning I baked a little - citrus and fruit bread, Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies and these bars. They are NOT very sweet, so next time I make them I'll probably add some sweetener (Heather notes this in her recipe).

Healthy Granola Bars (Gluten, Cow Dairy, Corn and Egg-free)

Adapted from Heather Eats Almond Butter

3 cups oats

1 cup oat or quinoa flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup oil*

3/4 cup fruit paste**

1/2 cup goat yogurt

dried fruits, nuts or nut butter, (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325F.

2. Combine all ingredients and press into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes, until light brown.

Notes:

*Could sub applesauce or butter for oil.

~ Hanunyah

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Instant Oatmeal Packets

~ This is my 100th post on this blog! ~

This is a good substitute for the packets in the store. To be sure this is gluten-free, use gluten-free oats and read the labels of the variations you use.

Instant Oatmeal Packets (Gluten-free, and Dairy-free if not using some of the variations below)
From: The Dollar Stretcher Family


3 cups quick oats
salt (optional)
small sized zip bags



Put 1/2 cup oats in a blender and blend on high until powdery. Set aside in a small bowl, and repeat procedure with an additional 1/2 cup oats. If you're using a food processor, you can do the 1 cup of oats in one batch. Put the following ingredients into each zip bag: 1/4 cup quick oats, 2 Tbsp. powdered oats (or oat flour), and 1/8 tsp. salt. Store in an airtight container.


~ To serve: Empty packet into a bowl. Add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir and let stand for 2 minutes. For thicker oatmeal, use less water - for thinner oatmeal, use more water. ~

Variations:

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp. chopped dried apples.
Sweetened Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar or 1 packet 'Equal' artificial sweetener.
Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. brown sugar & 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Oatmeal w/ Raisins & Brown Sugar: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. raisins.
Fruit and Cream Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. non-dairy coffee creamer and 2 Tbsp. dried fruit
Fun Fruit Oatmeal: To each packet add 6 or 7 pieces of 'fruit snack' type dehydrated fruit.
Confetti Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 tsp. decorative cake/cookie sprinkles.
S'More Oatmeal: 

To each packet 

add 6 miniature marshmallows and 1 Tbsp. chocolate chips.

Exploding Oatmeal: 

To each packet 

add 1 tsp. sugar, and 1/2 tsp. 'Pop Rocks' candy to each packet. This one is fun for celebration days, such as birthdays.

Update - July 27, 2011: Here is what I have come up with the last 2 times I made this. I may add more if I make up more.

~ My Variations ~

These are flavors I've come up with. Since it is eaten up so fast, I mix it in a big bowl and put it back in the oatmeal container. My brothers and sisters like it in cold milk, so they just scoop out what they want out of the container.

Seeds and Spices Oatmeal: Add poppy seeds, flaxseeds, a little nutmeg, a little ginger, and cinnamon. I made up this flavor and my sister who has been eating my Instant Oatmeal for breakfast every morning said it was really good. She likes this one better than the Maple Nut/Brown Sugar Cinnamon flavor I made today (below).

Maple Nut/Brown Sugar Cinnamon: Add brown sugar, cinnamon, finely ground walnuts and maple extract. I can't taste this since I'm on the GAPS diet, but it smells really good!

~ Hanunyah

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Food on Friday @ Carole's Chatter

Golden Granola

I can't believe it's already November 15th!! Since last month, tho, maybe that's my excuse to sit back and relax for some time :). But, with Thanksgiving coming up, and since we harvested our pumpkins, I'll probably be posting more recipes. And, just to let you know, even though I posted 31 recipes last month, I didn't run out of recipes. I still have MANY recipes!

This granola is so easy, quick, simple, yummy and different, my family really likes it. If you have a microwave it only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. You could even whip it up in the morning if you're looking for a quick and crunchy treat. For us, it's best if I make a few batches, because it goes so fast.
       Also, it's pretty healthy. It's basically sugar-free.

Golden Granola (Gluten-free)

3 cups Quaker Oats (Quick or Old Fashioned, uncooked)

1 cup shredded or flaked coconut

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1/4 cup honey (I've made it with corn syrup. You could probably use other syrups too.)

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted (I use oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup raisins (If we don't have any on hand I make it without)

Combine all ingredients except raisins in ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan; mix well. Bake in preheated moderate oven (350 F.) 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally; stir in raisins. Cool thoroughly; store in tightly covered container in cool dry place or in refrigerator. Serve as cereal with milk or as a snack.

Makes about 6 cups granola.

MICROWAVE OVEN DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients except raisins; mix well. Cook in ungreased 11x7-inch baking dish in microwave oven at HIGH 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown, stirring after every 2 minutes of cooking; stir in raisins.