Pumpkin Granola Bars

 One of the things I've been doing lately is trying to learn and get in the habit of making things myself that I normally buy at the grocery store.  I have several motivations for this.  First, I'm simply trying to get creative in living a more frugal lifestyle.  I think there are other ways to save besides just clipping coupons.  I mainly clip coupons for non food items like hygiene products and paper goods.  My second motivator is that I'm trying to help our family become healthier by eating more whole foods and less foods with chemicals and additives.  For example, we love granola and granola bars for snacks but when I got to reading the ingredients on the box they all contain high fructose corn syrup and ten other things I can't pronounce.  Now, before you start feeling inferior let me just say I'm not on any kind of an "all organic" high horse.  Trust me!  We do the best we can, but I'm not out to change the world in this department.  Just trying to make small changes here and there that will make a difference.  My third motivator is that when we get to Africa, I want to be able to make things we enjoy that we won't necessarily be able to access there.  Plus, I just LOVE being able to be at home and bless my family with my domestic creativity.  Okay, so there you have it.

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I thought I'd share this Pumpkin Granola Bar recipe we've all quickly come to love.  

 Here are the ingredients.  These basically came from me combining a few recipes I found online then adding or substituting with items I had on hand.

3 cups Whole Rolled Oats

2 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice or cinnamon

1/2 Tsp. Salt

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup Pumpkin

1/4 cup Applesauce

1/4 cup Honey

1 Tsp. Vanilla

1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins

1/2 cup of nuts (walnuts, almond slivers, whatever!)

handful of ground flaxseed

 My right hand man was up close and ready to help!

Combine Oats, Salt, Spices, and Flax in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, and honey

Then combine it all together (with your hands or your toddler's hands!).

After that, add in the dried fruit and nuts.

Cover a large baking sheet with foil and lightly spray it with cooking spray.  Place all the ingredients in a large ball on the sheet.  Then press it down into a big rectangle to the thickness you prefer. 

Bake it in the oven on 350 for around 35 minutes.  Watch the edges, so you don't get them too dark.  I've found the bars will harden even more once they're out of the oven.  

You can use a pizza cutter to cut the granola into bars and let them cool on a wire rack.  

With this recipe, I can get up to eleven good sized bars.  It's been great to throw them in Tyson's lunch or grab a few for the car for snacks when we're out running errands.  

Can you tell he liked them??