Easy 3-Step Granola Bars

Ingredients:
3 1/4c rolled oats
1/2c almond meal (flour)
1/4c coconut
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2c coconut oil
1/4c +2Tb honey
1/2c mini chocolate chips or raisins
1/4c dried cranberries (or other add-in)

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients together

2. Press into a greased 8x8 pan.

3. Bake at 325*F for 20-25min. When timer goes off, turn off oven but leave pan in for 15minutes as oven cools down. Granola bars should be nicely browned to a golden color on top. LET COOL completely before cutting and removing for best results. Makes 12 bars.

Note: This recipe was adapted from one I found on Pinterest that did not have a link attached. I omitted 1/4c brown sugar, subbed almond meal for regular flour (to "up" the protein/healthy fat content and get rid of unneeded carbs), and 1/2c coconut oil for 1/3c melted butter. I also added in some coconut for texture.
**If you are like me and rarely make a recipe the same twice, depending on what you decide to use for your "ad-ins" (ie: chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, dried fruit, coconut, etc.), you may have to tweak your amounts of honey and coconut oil since these are your "adhesives" to hold it all together. You basically just want it to be sticky enough so that it combines and meshes well as you press it into the pan.

Mmmmmm... SO much better for you than those bars you can buy at the grocery store! i dare you to look at the ingredients in THOSE ;)

~ENJOY!!!~