Several months ago, after Dear Husband (DH) was diagnosed with reflux, I started making my own granola bars. He needs to eat many small meals each day, rather than 3 larger meals. There are also a host of foods he cannot eat. Granola bars were a good choice for him, but buying them was expensive. So I began a search for recipes and found: this one
I started with this basic recipe and have tried a few variations, some successfully, some not so much. The original recipe is still very good, though I usually leave out the cinnamon and add peanut butter instead. AND, it’s cheaper than store-bought. Here’s how it breaks down:
Nature Valley Granola $2.50/12 (if bought on sale) = $.21/bar
Mix Together:
3 C Rolled Oats @ $0.22/Cup = $0.66
1 C Wheat Bran @ $0.38/Cup = $0.38
1 t baking powder @ $0.02/tsp = $0.02
Melt Together:
1 C Butter @ $2.00/lb = $1.00
1 ½ C Brown Sugar @ $0.29/Cup = $0.44
1 t Vanilla @ $0.10/tsp = $0.10
Pour melted ingredients over dry ingredients and mix until completely wet. Press mixture into greased 10 x 15 ½ bar pan. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Let cool for a while, refrigerate several hours or overnight before cutting.
Total cost for Home-Made Granola Bars $2.60/33 bars = $0.08/bar
Savings per bar: $0.13! So making the bars from scratch is less than half the cost of buying them! My family eats A LOT of granola bars. Over the course of a year if we eat only 1 bar per day that’s $47.45 saved. That’s enough to fill the gas tank – even at $4.00/gallon.
Despite many tries, I still haven't gotten them as crunchy as my son likes them, so I may revise this recipe in the future. I'm planning to try them with canola oil instead of butter next.
Make your own granola bars is my Kitchen Tip for Tuesday. For more ideas visit Tammy's Recipes here.
