Well I’ve had writers block for a while now.  I have a blog in the works about why we foster (and why you should too), but I can’t seem to finish it!  So in the mean time I found a great recipe to share as we go back to school and back to packing lunches.

I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest the other day and had to try it…of course I tweeked it based on ingredients I like to use and had on hand, and here is what I came up with…

• 4 c old fashioned oats
• 1/4 c whole wheat flour
• 1/4-1/2 c flax seed mill (I sneak this in lots of my recipes!)
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c chocolate chips (more or less as you like)
• 1/2 c dried cherries (or whatever dried fruit or nuts you have)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 c coconut oil (the original called for canola oil, but we prefer this)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c honey

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour remaining wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Press the granola mixture evenly over the cookie sheet. Bake at 325 F for about 20 minutes or until just starting to brown on top.  Let the granola cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes.  Transfer the parchment paper and granola onto a cutting board and cut into bars.  Enjoy!

I wrapped my bars in saran wrap and put them in a zip lock so my family wouldn’t devour them all at once!  My husband said they were the best granola bars he’d eaten and my kids loved them.  I will probably have to hide these from the kids family in order to actually put them in lunches. 🙂  FYI – They are really chewy out of the oven, but crunchier the next day.  We like chewy and crunchy granola bars, so this is fine by us!

Kayla North

Kayla North is co-founder of One Big Happy Home and is considered an expert on childhood trauma. Along with her husband, she has developed training materials and programs for parents, churches, and schools educating them on trauma and its impacts. Kayla is also an affiliate trainer with Trauma Free World, an ETC Parent Trainer, TBRI practitioner, and the Executive Directory of Tapestry. She speaks at churches, schools, conferences, and retreats nationwide.