Monday Recipe - Fruit and Nut Granola Bars

Reading labels can be a depressing thing for diabetics!  The granola bars that are generally available usually have sugar in them, and a lot of other carbs as well.  Here is a recipe I came up with that is not as sweet as the bars you usually find.  I do NOT add the Splenda or sugar listed in the ingredients to my bars; but if you have a bit of a sweet tooth, you will probably want to.

Fruit and Nut Granola Bars

3 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 ripe banana
1/2 cup Splenda (or sweetening of your choice, if desired)

1 cup assorted dried fruits, chopped fine
   (cranberries, prunes, apricots, figs, dates, raisins)

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups dry oatmeal, or Muesli*, or a combination

1/2 cup chopped nuts, your choice (nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Melt butter in a large saucepot under very low heat.  Use some of the butter to coat a 1/3 cup measuring cup, and then pour butter back into the saucepot.  Measure peanut butter into the 1/3 cup measure and pour in with the butter (it will not stick as much to the cup).  Stir until peanut butter is melted and smooth.  Remove from heat.  Add mashed banana and Spenda, if using, and mix well.  Add dried fruits and nuts and eggs.  Mix very well.  Add oatmeal and nuts and stir until everything is mixed very well.  Pour into an 8" or 9" square pan.  Bake from 20 to 25 minutes, or until light brown on top.  Let mixture cool in pan and then cut into bars.

*I used Dorset Muesli, found in Krogers' natural food section.  You can use any muesli you like. Dorset muesli is not overly sweet, which is what I liked about it.  You could also just use oatmeal, if you like, or maybe some flavored oatmeal packets you have on hand to add additional flavor.  I used the Dorset Muesli with the pineapple and papaya (pictured below), which added a couple of different fruits to the bars.   Let me know if you come up with a yummy version!

Ready to Bake

Done!