BLUEBERRY OAT WALNUT GRANOLA BARS…Yummy mouthful!
Emily Walker
A friend of mine was flying down from the UK in December ’08 & she asked if I wanted anything from there. Me? Yes, of course! I never let a good offer go by & asked her to ‘please’ get me some dried cranberries, blueberries etc. Don’t know if she’ll ask me again in a hurry, but she got me lots of bags of dehydrated blueberries, dried cherries & a couple of beautiful baking books too. One thing I do miss not getting here are fresh berries, & the only local dried ‘berries’ we get here are tiny black currants & raisins. The imported dried berries available here are way too expensive.
Granola got popular as a health food popular with the hippie movement in the 1960’s. I made these granola bars using the blueberries after googling for ideas. They are quite the tastiest ones I could have ever made. The kids loved them, & I am finally posting them after the 2 batches have been devoured.
When the son heard I made granola bars, he looked a trifle worried because he doesn’t like the granola bars which we buy from the store…he said they’re too ‘honeyish‘! Well, these were a rocking good success…& very popular in school too! They are bursting with goodness, healthy, vegetarian, vegan…& above all CRISP & DELICIOUS!
About blueberries; my daughter’s favourite berry… There aren’t many blue foods in nature, but more blue-colored foods are appearing on grocery store shelves. Blue gelatin and cereal that colors the milk blue are especially popular with kids.
Artificial colorants are safe food additives, but they do not provide the health benefits linked with naturally occurring pigments. According to researchers, adding more natural colorants to your diet is good for your health.
Blueberries in particular are linked with health benefits. According to a USDA study of more than 40 fruits and vegetables, blueberries ranked highest in antioxidant activity. A half-cup serving of blueberries had as much “antioxidant power” as five servings of other fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants help neutralize the damaging effects of “free radicals,” substances which damage DNA and cell membranes. The damage caused by free radicals is linked with cancer, heart disease and the aging process. Source: Julie Garden-Robinson
BLUEBERRY OAT WALNUT GRANOLA BARS
recipe from North American Blueberry Council
Ingredients:
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. firmly-packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 c. quick-cooking oats (I used Quakers)
1 packet dehydrated sweetened blueberries (70gms)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped raisins (optional)
- Preheat oven to 180C degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 9-inch square baking pan. (I lined the tin as well, but found that the lining got stuck to the bottom by the time it had cooled. The second time around, I flipped the whole thing over gently, & peeled the lining off while the granola was still warm. Also scoured the top with lines when it was warm, to make it easier to cut later.)
- In a medium saucepan, combine honey, brown sugar, oil and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes; do not stir.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine oats + blueberries + walnuts + raisins. Stir in honey mixture until thoroughly blended. Spread into prepared pan, gently pressing mixture flat. Bake until lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into 1 1/2 x 3-inch bars. (Mine were ready in about 30 minutes)
- They begin to get crisp as they cool.
- I made another batch using dried winter berries that my niece brought for me from Dubai. Those were very yummy bars too.
And I just found this very interesting post which has a good resource on granola…the Ultimate Authority on Great Granola. I’m going to be exploring that soon!
This recipe is en route to “Cinnamon Celebration“ to Grace @ Southern Grace who is celebrating her love for cinnamon.
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
39 Comments
Pavani
Thats a healthy and delicious snack.. Love it.
Bellini Valli
Blueberries are natures “power” food. It stands to reason that these homemade granola bars would be a huge hit with the “kidlets”.
n33ma
wow yum!not a afan of granola bars but looking at these has got me thinking otherwise.
Happy cook
Hey i didn’t even know there were dry blueberrie available. Now i will have to look for that in the shops when i go next time.
I have never made Granola at home. I must make them ones.
These look so yummy.
Elra
Miam..miam…
of course this granola will beat any store bought granola out there. Look at those ingredients that you put in it. Well done, your son is so cute!
Cheers,
Elra
Rosie
Those granola bars are such a healthy and delicious snack – another great bake.
Reeni♥
Home-made is always better! They look so delicious, blueberries are my favorite too!
Kaitlin
These look like a perfect, healthy, and delicious snack!
Sara
These look so good, my husband eats granola bars every day, so I need to make these for him!
Anonymous
Me likey this.. got to make. I’ve got a fixation for berries too, we dont get them here and when we do a tiny little container costs the earth and sky. .. that’s how I got my stash of cranberries too, someone asked when going to the US and I said yes plz. Made them a batch of pista and cranberry biscotti in return.. Thanks for sharing. Angela
lisa (dandysugar)
I love this! Perfect to snack on during the day. Delicious, especially with the blueberries!
Gloria
wonderful! beautiful waht more??? absolutely yummy dear Deeba!!!!!!!!!Gloria
Linda
Yowsa….the husband will love these! How nice and healthy.
aquadaze
oh the granola bars have “eat me” written all over them deeba!
Helene
I love blueberries in anything. These are beautiful bars.
Camille
These look perfect for a family on the go, like us..soccer, swimming and I’m always bringing along oatmeal bars. At least your son only says the store bought ones are too “honeyish”. Mine say they are either too sweet or taste like tree bark…and that goes for the soft ones, too.
I’ll have to add this recipe to my oatmeal bar selection.
Tartelette
These are enough to never make me want to skip breakfast again!! Yum!
Doe-Eyed
Looks scrumptious!! slurp! 😀
Nicisme
Oh look at those gorgeous eyes! And why is it that boys have such beautiful hair?
So glad to hear you got dried berries, they’ll be gone in no time I expect, especially if you keep making such delicious goodies!
How To Eat A Cupcake
My boyfriend and I would really love this! 😀
Mallory Elise
brilliant photo with the train in the back–looks great on taste spotting 🙂
Maris
I bet these are so much better than store bought granola bars! I’ll definitely try these sometime.
Dawn
I eat so many blueberries and always have way too many leftover. I would love to try this recipe!
I hope you make a similiar recipe with nuts & peanut butter. Doesn't that sound good?
A_and_N
Super recipe, Deeba! BTW your strawberry cheesecake is in the fridge right now waiting to be served to some guests tonite! 🙂
Arfi Binsted
Fresh blueberries? Interesting. We’ve still been enjoying bluberries in NZ summertime here. I think it’s only almost Spring there, isn’t it? Anyway, it’s just great baking with fruits!
Dwiana P
Deeba, what a great snack! and your son look so adorable too:)
Lori Lynn
Sounds like the Son has a pretty advanced palate. Good for him, chef one day???
LL
Mandy
I am sure your homemade granola bars are much much tastier and heathier than the store bought ones. I need to make some for my breakfast too. 🙂
Rindy R
I bought a bag of dried blueberries at Christmas I still have not used up – this is a great recipe! Thanks for sharing – and I am putting this on my “To Do” list right now!
Donna-FFW
These look so delicious. My kids would love them. I’ll Have to bookmark this one!
MeetaK
these look great. i love making my own bars – i know what goes into them! love the blueberries in this!
Jennifer
Wow these look so great! I much prefer homemade bars vs. store bought! Thanks!
Aparna
This great stuff for hungry kids (and adults too!).
Lucky to get your hands on bluberries.:)
Snooky doodle
these look delicious. I want to make them to take with me at work. Yummy snack 🙂
workhard
When i saw those pictures, i quickly started reading to find out where you found blackberries..aha…u dont get them here do you?
Work from home
Jeanne
I’m going to have to go and hunt for blueberries! I don’t really like the fresh ones, so I’m very keen to try this recipe of yours 🙂 Bookmarked!
Melanie
Yum! I love homemade granola bars – they taste so much better then store-bought! I make mine with sweetened condensed milk instead of honey.
Swapna
Hi Deeba,
I made this recently and it came out very good….Thanks for the recipe!!
Dershana
deeba,what a wonderful space you've built up! i'm gonna try this granola bar recipe. and a help request! i'm quite hopeless at baking but now with my 9 month old loving biscuits i want to make something healthy for her to nibble on. can you help me identify a baby friendly cookie/biscuit recipe in your collection?