Homemade Granola and Protein Bars

Last night on Food Network Alton Brown made granola and protein bars.  They looked delicious and I can't wait to try the recipes out.  They are also way better for you than store bought bars, and cheaper!!  Here are the recipes.  Enjoy!!!

 

Does anyone else have Healthy bar recipes!?!??!

Granola Bars

Prep Time:20 minInactive Prep Time:0 minCook Time:40 min Level:Easy Serves:16 (2-inch) squares 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups
1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup
3 ounces sliced almonds, approximately 1 cup
1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approximately 1/2 cup
6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup
1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed
1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Protein Bars Prep Time:25 minInactive Prep Time:0 minCook Time:35 min Level:Easy Serves:24 (2-inch) squares 4 ounces soy protein powder, approximately 1 cup
2 1/4 ounces oat bran, approximately 1/2 cup
2 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1/2 cup
3/4-ounce wheat germ, approximately 1/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ounces raisins, approximately 1/2 cup
2 1/2 ounces dried cherries, approximately 1/2 cup
3 ounces dried blueberries, approximately 1/2 cup
2 1/2 ounces dried apricots, approximately 1/2 cup
1 (12.3-ounce) package soft silken tofu
1/2 cup unfiltered apple juice
4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/2 cup packed
2 large whole eggs, beaten
2/3 cup natural peanut butter
Canola oil, for pan

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper and lightly coat with canola oil. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the protein powder, oat bran, wheat flour, wheat germ, and salt. Set aside.

Coarsely chop the raisins, dried cherries, blueberries and apricots and place in a small bowl and set aside.

In a third mixing bowl, whisk the tofu until smooth. Add the apple juice, brown sugar, eggs, and peanut butter, 1 at a time, and whisk to combine after each addition. Add this to the protein powder mixture and stir well to combine. Fold in the dried fruit. Spread evenly in the prepared baking dish and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 205 degrees F. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting into squares. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

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Good Eats! I saw that! I love Alton Brown. He's cute in a "dorky" sort of way. haha.

I like that he really researches the food science behind each of his show topics.

Those bars sound really good, but do we know the nutr breakdown, cals, etc? We may need to plug it into the recipe analyzer I guess.

I was wondering if anyone has analyzed the Granola Bar recipe for nutritional content yet? I plan to make these to sell at the concession stand at my daughter's upcoming home track meet. And, if they aren't too high in calories, I might make a batch for home, too!

I made a version of the protein bars using different dried fruit and they were not very "Good Eats". I think Alton is awesome but the protein bars are not one of his best recipes. Haven't tried the Granola Bars though, they might be better, although less nutritious.

I'm going to try putting Alton's recipe in the Recipe Analyzer when I have time.  I really need to know the nutritional values. 

If anybody had entered granola bar recipes in the analyzer, could you forward me a link to your recipe?  I'd like to do a CC blog entry on healthy snacks.