Not Your Sister's Clif Bars

My sister and I attended a homeschooling conference together this year. It was the first such conference either of us had ever attended. There was much to learn and not just about homeschooling in all of its various and sundry forms. One of the best things I learned didn't come from the conference itself, it came from my sister's kitchen pantry...

Clif Bars are awesome. Sudeana's family purchases and consumes Clif Bars in high quantity, and it's no wonder. You can throw them in your purse, or your children's car seats, or your husband's briefcase, and voila--you've got an instant, protein-packed, yummy, wholesome breakfast-on-the-go. We threw a few of these little gems into our conference bags and ate one on the way to our first sessions and we were good to go until lunch. 

The only problem with Clif Bars is that I'd probably sink our grocery budget purchasing enough to conveniently feed our family of six or just me as I became quite addicted to the apricot flavored ones. 

You can imagine my excitement when I came across an alternative to Clif Bars that I could make myself for a fraction of the cost.

The recipe I found was for a type of oatmeal bar which looked wonderful, however, with the healthful Clif Bars as my focus, I tweaked the original quite a bit. Here's what you need:

Cherry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars**

(Printable Recipe here...)

3/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup white sugar (decrease if you wish)

1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

2 to 3 tablespoons wheat germ

4 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon OR vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups dry oats

1 1/2 cups dried fruit (raisins, craisins, dried cherries, etc.)

The directions for this recipe are very simple. First, add the first five ingredients: 

You may be asking: "Why in the world does this need wheat germ?" The answer is, it doesn't. If you don't have it on hand, just leave it out. I've added it because of the health benefits wheat germ brings to the table, so to speak.  Did you know that wheat germ is a good source of B-vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, and Omega 3 fatty acids among many others? Wheat germ is also a great provider of vitamin E which is good for the skin and has anti-aging properties (who doesn't need that?). On its own, it has a sweet nutty taste, but in most recipes the taste is undetectable, allowing me to pump up the nutrition value of food without any adjustment to taste. It's easy to snag at the grocery store too. My jar looks like this:

After the first group of ingredients is mixed, add the next six ingredients:

A note about the flours: You can increase the whole wheat flour amount to 3/4 cup and decrease the amount of white flour to 3/4 cup. If you don't have whole wheat flour, you can simply use the white (all purpose) flour for the total 1 1/2 cup amount.

After all ingredients are mixed well, press the very thick batter into a 9 x 13 pan with the back of a wooden spoon or your hand.

(Wet your hand to keep batter from sticking to it.)

Finally, bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Allow oatmeal bars to cool completely before cutting into portion sized squares. I cut ours into 12 squares which has proven a perfect size for our hungry breakfast eaters.

These oatmeal bars freeze well.  Wrap individually and place in a gallon freezer bag and place in freezer. Remove from freezer the night before to defrost. If you forget and are in a rush, defrost in the microwave for 30-40 seconds on the defrost setting.

**This recipe is ultra versatile. I made another batch using chocolate and peanut butter which the kids liked even more than the dried cherry version (though the adults here overwhelmingly preferred the cherry).

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars:

(Printable Recipe here...)

3/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup white sugar (decrease if you wish)

1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

2 to 3 tablespoons wheat germ

4 eggs

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups dry oats

12 oz. package chocolate chips

Combine first group of ingredients. Add second group of ingredients. Press into sprayed 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool, cut into squares and enjoy.