Granola bars had never been our favorite until
Earth Fare gave away a coupon entitled "Breakfast Revolution" couple weeks ago. The coupon included a granola bar for a dollar. We bought the bar and brought it on our hike the weekend after. Since then, hubby loves granola bar. Unfortunately, granola bars aren't inexpensive especially the good ones.

So, I decided to make them myself. After I found the recipe I liked, we went to the store to get the ingredients. Little did I know that the ingredients for the bars could get so expensive. I then realized that those were mostly oats, organic nuts and organic dried fruits; and some ingredients are sold in packages. So I have to make more and more batch to decrease the cost per bar
We brought our first bars to our hiking trip last weekend. That was our fourth hiking trip this past month.
Note: The picture above shows a view along Alum Cave Trail. It was a dark and cloudy day when we were there.
Homemade Granola Bar
Ingredients:
2 cups oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup chopped pecan
3/4 cup chopped sliced almond
2 Tbs flax seed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz. chopped dried cranberry
4 oz. chopped prunes

Mix the oats, nuts, and flax seed in a baking dish lined with a parchment paper and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oat mixture. Add the dried fruits and stir well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan lined with parchment paper. Using finger or parchment paper, hardly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares.