Homemade granola and nutritional snack bars

This week we had a discussion on the Nature's Sunshine nsp yahoogroups about healthy granola bars and homemade snacks. Some which were recommended where Kashi bars, larabars, Organic Food Bars, Organic Green Plus Bars and Bible Bars from House of David in Forida.

Nature's Sunshine is introducing a new nutrition bar (chocolate bars featuring xylitol) during our National convention next week in Dallas, Texas, which is exciting. I'll let you know more about that when I return from the convention.

In the meantime some of the girls shared their favorite homemade recipes and they said it would be okay for me to post it here on my blog so that I can share with you as well. Teaching people to get back to cooking is something I've been putting some emphasis on with family, friends and clients. Getting back to whole foods and non manufactured foods and taking whole foods and making your own (no chemicals or preservatives). I have implemented this into my family life by teach my boys to cook and bake to help me out. They love when I find a delicious healthy snack recipe and never mind helping me with the cooking and baking.

Thanks to all the wonderful Nature's Sunshine friends who share so much with me every day!

Homemade Protein Bars
Recipe Shared by Kasara D'Elene

1 cup protein powder (Soy, rice, whey or other)
1/2 cup spelt, quinoa or kamut flour
2 cups oat, triticale, or spelt flakes
1/2 cup oat or rice bran
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp tsp sea salt
1/2 to 2/3 cup xylitol, Succanat or your favorite sweetener
1 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups plain or vanilla yogurt - or you can substitute rice cream cheese, or rice yogurt for dairy free option
1/4 cup vegetable oil2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking pan and acookie sheet with non-stick spray.
2. Mix togetherthe protein powder, flour, flakes, oat bran, cinamon and saltin a bowl. Crumble in the sweetener, rubbing it with your fingers to breakup any clumps. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Measure the yogurt, oil and vanilla in a second bowl, stirring untilwell-combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix patiently untilthroughly blended. (You may have to use your hands - it will be thickbatter verging on dough.)
4. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan, patting it evenly into place withyour hands. Back in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, then remove fromthe oven and cut into bars of any size or shape. Place the bars on theprepared cookie sheet and bake another 15 minutes or until golden around theedges. Remove the bars from the oven and place them on a rack to cool.
5. Eat the bars within a few hours, or seal them in a heavy zip-styleplastic bag and store them in the freezer. They may be recrisped in the toaster.

Homemade snack bars
Recipe Shared by Sharon Grimes

Wet Ingredients:
1 c. honey
3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
3 T. molasses
4 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt

Dry Ingredients:
11 c. rolled oats
1/2 – 1 c. wheat germ
2 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut
3/4 c. raw sunflower seeds
3/4 c. raw cashew pieces
1/2 c. raw sesame seeds

Walnuts, pecans, raisins, dates, dried fruit, etc. to taste

Measure out the dry ingredients and mix well – I mix mine in the bottom half of my stainless steel turkey roaster. Mix wet ingredients and heat over low heat on the stove top, or in a 350 degree oven in a casserole dish. Make sure they are totally liquefied and well-blended before adding to the dry ingredients. Stir everything together until dry ingredients are coated. Bake in a 350 degree oven, 20-30 minutes (depending on how crispy you want it), stirring completely every 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before packaging.

This is SO delicious!!!!!

I have experimented with all kinds of variations. My college kids beg for me to send this by the boxful for all of their dormmates, who just love it. And it’s a healthy snack!


Peanut Butter Fruit Bars
Shared by Nancy Yoakum

There is a book called 'Stevia Sweet Recipes' by Jeffrey Goettemoeller. I purchase it wholesale for my store thru HerbalAdvantage.com. I've bought from them for years now. It is a good book and here is a recipe I tried recently that was wonderful ! Served it at a meeting and everyone loved it and even those with diabetes tried it and said they had NO increase in blood sugar from it!

The way the recipe reads:
1/4 C natural applesauce
3/4 tsp Stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 C natural peanut butter
3/4 C chopped dates
1/2 C chopped peacans
1/4 C nonfat dry milk or more for firmer
2T softened butter
2/3 C rolled oats
2 T butter
1 C sugarfree carob chips
Measure applesauce, stevia and vanilla into a medium bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. Add peanut butter, dates, pecans, dry milk and 2 T butter, mix well.

Toast rolled oats in heavy skillet over medium heat about 6 minutes. Stir often. Oats will darken only slightly. Combine with applesauce mixture and press into an 8 inch square dish.

Use same skillet to melt 2 T butter over low heat. Evenly sprinkle in carob chips and allow to melt about half way. Do NOT stir. Slip the partially melted mass atop the cookie mixture and spread. Cool. Or simply sprinkle 1/2 C carob chips over cookie bars without melting, press in with spatula. Cut and serve and Love It!

What I did different: I used organic almond butter instead of peanut butter. Had no applesauce so used organic apple butter. Had no nonfat dry milk so used more organic rolled oats. Topped with a mint chocolate chip since I had no carob and it still did not cause a problem with blood sugar for the diabetics who enjoyed it! And IT Was Delicious ! ! !