Healthified Nutrigrain Bars

via

 Happy Thursday erbody! So last week while doing my normal grocery shopping I was in the granola bar isle looking for some sort of quick and easy healthy snack for the little dude. I picked up a few different breakfast bars to compare the nutrition facts and ingredients, and well, even the "healthy" ones had about 20 or more ingredients. Of those ingredients the only one I could pronounce was sugar. I was very disappointed and realized that most of these are just candy bars masked as healthy oatmeal snacks. I in no way claim to be a health nut, but I do try to be as healthy as possible, especially for little dude. So that's when I decided to bag that idea and just find a recipe to make, that way I know exactly what's going in it.

Of course, the first place I looked was Pinterest and I found a great recipe for homemade Nutrigrain bars. It was relatively healthy, but I altered it slightly by using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose and substituting applesauce for most of the butter. They were so yummy! My husband has even requested that I make them regularly.

 Here is my "healthified" version of the recipe

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. Oats

3/4 c. Brown sugar, packed
1 t. Baking powder
1/2 t. Salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 c. salted butter, cut into pieces
1 jar (10-12 oz) Preserves (I didn't use nearly that much)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except preserves.  Press half of the mixture into a buttered 8" square (or small rectangular) pan.  Spread preserves.  Sprinkle second half of mixture over the top and press down lightly.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden.  Let cool completely, cut into squares. 

*Images and original recipe found here*