Oatmeal Snack Bar

It has been a little while since I have posted some food for thought, but these are worth the wait!  I found this idea on a you-tube video made by Sara Westbrook and her mom.  I've taken the idea and have run with it, improvising it for who I'm making them for. The kids get a nut-free version, my husband gets a power packed one and I get a gluten-free, no fat version.  So when it comes to this recipe...only your imagination is the limit. It's very quick, all in one bowl and you can freeze them.  Today I threw a batch together before some friends came over for a very fun visit of water, play and wonderful company.
So I will give you the base for this recipe and them list some suggestions for add-ins and toppings.

In this picture I sliced the bars down the middle before putting them in the oven with some raspberry and mixed berry jam

Base Recipe:
4 cups of Oats
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
1 mashed banana
1/2 cup of cereal ( rice krispies, corn flakes, special K, Kashi)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

If your making a nut-free version to add more moisture to the mix add some apple sauce or some milk...coconut milk also works great.

For the power bar you can add:
1/2 natural peanut butter or almond butter

For the gluten bars I use gluten free oats and apple sauce with coconut milk.
Now for the add ins which you could really go crazy with:
any kind of nut,
gogi berries, cranberries, raisins, currents,
coco for a chocolate version
coconut,
chocolate chips or I use cacao nibs which is raw chocolate and my kids love it.
sunflower seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds,
Dried fruit like apricots, dates, figs, berries

For the topping bit you can put nothing and leave them plan, jam, peanut butter, nutella
The consistency you are looking for is, and I'm going to quote Sara, "that of packing snow"...gotta love it, but it works. So if you've added a bunch of stuff and the mix is dry, add another banana or some more coconut milk. If the mix is too wet add some more oats or other dry bits, and then your all set.

If you have a hard time getting fruit into your crew something to consider is pureeing some and mixing it in, or using some of the pomegranate juices that you can buy.  It would probably be easy to hide some blueberries in a coco version.

So there you have it...Set your Oven to 350 and put the bars in for approx. 20 mins.  The ones that have the higher fat content I take out earlier..around 15 minutes...

Let me know what you think and what kind of combinations you come up with.