It’s been a while since I blogged a recipe, but this is too good not to share. A friend passed on an article to me about how to make your own granola bars. I have been monkeying with the recipe for the past few weeks and have landed on what I think is the right recipe for me.

These granola bars are super-yummy and fill you up when you are hungry. They are full of ingredients that are good and good for you. And with the way I make them, they are only 4 pointsplus per serving.

2c puffed wheat cereal (look in the organic section at your grocery store)
1/2 c almonds (or other nut)
1/2c semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4c dried papaya (or other fruit)
1/4c honey
1/3c egg whites
1/2tbsp vanilla
Pinch of salt

Grind almonds to powder (or use chopped variety if you prefer noticeable chunks of nuts). Combine with puffed wheat. Snip papaya (or other dried fruit) into small chunks and add to almond and wheat mixture. In separate bowl, combine egg whites, honey, salt and vanilla. Once well mixed, pour into dry ingredients mixture and toss well. Coat 12 serving muffin tin with non-stick spray. Scoop equal amounts of mixture into muffin tin. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top. Bake for 25-30 min at 300F.

I like using the muffin tin because it makes it easy to do equal servings. I usually take one of these to work for a mid-morning snack and I have another at lunchtime with fruit or veggies.

For the longest time I was eating Kashi bars like they were coming out of my ears. But what I like about these granola bars is that they are less expensive and I control the ingredients that go into them. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!