Granola Bars

My 3 year old loves granola bars ("nola bars" he calls them), but sadly the only kind of granola bars he knows are the ones wrapped up nicely in a package and bought from the store. Well, today I decided that I want him to come to know homemade granola bars... which are much healthier and do not contain processed sugars of any kind. So off to work I set on this damp and dreary early summer day to experiment with my first batch of granola bars. Here are the satisfying results.

Granola Bars

2 1/3 cups old fashioned oats*
1 1/4 cups almonds and pecans, sliced*
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/2- 3/4 cup agave nectar and/or raw honey (depending on your sweetness preference)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9'13 pan with parchment paper. Mix oats through coconut in a bowl. Add agave through raisins and stir to coat. Pour into prepared pan and press down with spatula to create an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan (up to three hours). Remove and flip upside down onto cutting board. Peel off parchment paper and slice into desired size of bars (I make about 12 good sized bars). Store in the freezer for maximum freshness.

*I prefer to soak grains and nuts for 12-24 hours, then dehydrate before I eat them. This breaks down the phytic acid, unlocks vital nutrients, and makes them more easily digestible. This is a great article if you want to learn more. In this granola bar recipe, I start by soaking the oats in 1 cup of water + 1 tablespoon of either apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or kefir for 12-24 hours, then place on a teflex sheet in my dehydrator at 115 degrees for about 10 hours to dry them out. For the nuts, I also soak covered in water (amount does not matter), then I drain after 8-12 hours and dehydrate the same as the oats. You can skip these steps if this process is new to you and you are on information overload! I will post more about this in the future.