Ever since I had the Kashi pumpkin granola bars I have been wanting to make my own version of pumpkin granola bars. Plus, I figured it would save money to make my own bars instead of buying a box of 5 to 6 bars for $3.50. I looked over a few recipes on the internet, and came up with my own recipe. The bars came out a little sweet, full of pumpkin spices, and quite chewy. I brought them to work, and everyone liked them. I guess they pass the taste test!

Pumpkin Granola Bars
Makes approx. 14 Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 Cups Oats, toasted (place on baking sheet in oven for a few minutes)
• 1/2 Cup Wheat Germ
• 1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
• 1 Egg
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. Butter or Butter Substitute, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 C. Honey
• 1/3 C. Sugar Free Maple Syrup
• 1 Tbsp. Molasses
• 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp. Coconut
• 2/3 C. Dried Cranberries
• 2/3 C. Almonds or Walnuts, Chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Combine dry ingredients: oats, wheat germ, spices.
3. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl thoroughly: butter, sweeteners, pumpkin, egg.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Mix in the cranberries, coconut, and nuts.

5. Spray a 9×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Spread mixture into pan so that the layer is about 1 inch thick. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the edges have browned.

Nutrition Facts: 205 calories, 7 g fat, 2 g saturated, 30 g carb, 2 g fiber, 7.3 g protein, 23% DV iron, 99% DV vitamin A, 28% DV thiamin.
Adding the pumpkin to these bars packs in the nutrients. If you eat one bar, you can almost get your entire daily value for vitamin A! These bars are balanced between the fat, carbohydrates, and protein so they make a perfect snack or part of a breakfast-on-the-go. And the bars include a fruit and a vegetable! The 200 calories is if you cut the batch to make 14 bars. These bars will come out fairly large, so you do get quite a bit for 200 calories. And Mr. Triathlete likes them as well. That must mean they don’t taste too “healthy”, and they don’t make him want to vomit I was trying to make a palatable, yet healthy bar.

We already know: not enough Americans are getting their 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables. I thought, if you love muffins, why not making them with vegetables! My Mom used to make us zucchini bread all the time. Of course her’s was the full fat, refined white flour version. This recipe I created is just as delicious. Recipe adapted from All Recipes.

Healthy Zucchini Muffins
Makes 16
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons stevia/truvia
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded/grated zucchini, squeezed dry
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a muffin tin, or line with paper muffin cups.
2. Combine the dry ingredients: flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients: beat together eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugars, honey, and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Fold in the zucchini, nuts, and raisins. Scoop 2 heaping tablespoons into each prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake 17 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.

Nutrition Facts: About 170 calories per muffin, 7 grams fat 
Notes and Tips: The fat in this recipe comes from vegetable oil, and the walnuts (healthy unsaturated sources of fat). To cut down fat even more you can use more applesauce and yogurt, and less oil. I like to use a variety of sweeteners because it gives the muffins better flavor. To decrease the sugar content you can use less brown sugar, and more stevia or splenda. To increase the fiber content you can add a few spoonfuls of oat bran, and decrease the flour amount.
These muffins came out delicious! They tasted just like my Mom’s. They were very moist from the zucchini (I would suggest decreasing the oil amount to 2 tablespoons, and using more applesauce/yogurt). Adding the zucchini in the muffins is like adding your own natural multivitamin. Each cup of zucchini is a great source of vitamin C and manganese!