Make Your Own Muesli Bars

When I need a quick snack in the afternoon I find myself reaching for a muesli bar.

I found this recipe on Taste.com and made a few alterations. The grains and seeds provide lots of good fats but I must I admit after working out the kilojoules (calories) they are not the healthiest snack you could choose. I originally wanted to make healthy muesli bars but it didn't go to plan and this is what I ended up with.

Make approx. 15 bars

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup LSA (ground Linseed, Almond and sunflower seeds)

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup sunflower kernels

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup of semi dried apricots cut into small pieces (You can make variations and try different ingredients here)

70 g butter

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup brown sugar

How to make it:

-Put oats, coconut, LSA, sesame seeds, sunflower kernels and pumpkin seeds in a pan. On a medium heat, stir continuously for 8 minutes until it is a golden brown colour. Leave to cool in a bowl. Stir through apricots.

-Place butter, Honey and sugar in a saucepan. On a medium heat stir for 3 minutes or until the sugar dissolves.

-Bring to the boil and then turn the temperature down so that the mixture is simmering. Let it simmer for 7 minutes without stirring. To test if the sugar mix is ready drop a small amount into icy water and it should form a soft ball.

-Add Sugar mixture to dry ingredients and stir until combined.

-Line a slice tin (I used a 21 cm x 30 cm tin) with baking paper. Spread the mixture evenly and press it firmly into the tin.

-Once cooled, cut into bars and store in an airtight container.

I wrapped the bars individually in cling wrap so that they are ready to go when I am in a rush.

Changes I made from the original ingredients include using LSA instead of wheat germ (only because I couldn't find any at the shops), using apricots instead of sultanas (I’m not a big fan of sultanas) and reducing the amount of butter and sugar.

The Muesli bars are really tasty even my boyfriend liked them (and he is a muesli bar connoisseur). Some suggestion on how to make them even healthier include: substituting coconut for something else and finding healthier ingredients to bind them together. Maybe in the future I might play around with these ingredients.

I would have liked for the bars to hold together better. I think this was the result of reducing the sugar.

Do you have any good healthy muesli bar recipes? Any suggestions for ingredient substitutes?