Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Hungry Runner: Granola Bars

I've always had a high metabolism, and running seems to only increase my insatiable appetite.  Over the past year, I've been nursing my baby, which makes me even hungrier.  High metabolism + running + breastfeeding = constant need for food!

I try to be conscientious about the food I feed my family.  While I don't subscribe to any specific school of thought, I try to use whole ingredients, minimize refined sugar, and incorporate fruits and vegetables as often as possible.  One of the foods I've experimented with the most is granola bars.  I love the convenience of prepackaged Quaker granola bars, but the list of ingredients is a bit unsettling.  How much sugar do we need in one little snack?!

Thus began my quest to find a great recipe for homemade granola bars.  I failed many (many, many) times, but fortunately I have a husband and at least one kid who will eat my failures.  Amidst the failures, I hit a big success with these granola bars courtesy of Weelicious.  I adjusted them slightly by using ground dates in place of the brown sugar, and they were a tremendous hit!  Even the pickiest eater in our house enjoyed them.