Wild oats

I was up all night sowing my Wild Oat Bars. 

Technically, they aren't "my" Oat Bars since Julie Nodgaard gave me the original recipe but I made them so maybe it's not entirely unethical to call them mine. That, and I went to the trouble of changing the name of the recipe from Oat Bars to Wild Oat Bars because you can get a little crazy and create many variations just by changing an ingredient or two.

I made a few substitutions to Julie's recipe, so today I am going to share two versions of the Wild Oat Bar recipe. It's kind of like stumbling upon a BOGO sale--it's your lucky day!

If you are a fan of oatmeal granola bars, then these recipes are for you. These bars are really easy to whip together and make a great, wholesome, post-workout oat meal.

Before the big reveal, I want to point out two things about today's photo:

1. I will not be winning any photo journalism awards if I keep posting cell phone pictures, and; 
2. I was up LATE baking these oat bars to share with you 

So without further delay...

From the kitchens of Julie and Joanna Crocker:

JULIE'S WILD OAT BARS
 
Dry ingredients:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
  
• 1 cup fruit (raisins, chopped apples, dried cherries or cranberries, dates, etc.)
  
• ¼ tsp salt
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• ¼ tsp baking soda
  

 
Wet ingredients:

• 1-6 oz. carton plain, low fat or nonfat yogurt
  
• 1 whole egg or 2 egg whites
  
• 2 Tbs. melted butter or vegetable oil
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 2-4 Tbs. honey
  

  
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.  Mix wet ingredients thoroughly. Pour wet into dry and mix thoroughly.  Press the mixture into an 8 or 9 inch square pan, sprayed with Pam.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


JOANNA'S WILD OAT BARS

Dry ingredients:

• 3 cups of your custom Moja Mix cereal
  
• 1 heaping handful of Ghirardelli chocolate chips!
  
• ¼ tsp salt
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• ¼ tsp baking soda
  
• 2T NuStevia Sweetener Stevia Baking Blend
  

 
Wet ingredients:

• 1-6 oz. carton plain, low fat or nonfat yogurt
  
• 2 egg whites
  
• 2 Tbs. coconut oil
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 2-4 Tbs. agave nectar
  

  
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.  Mix wet ingredients thoroughly. Pour wet into dry and mix thoroughly.  Press the mixture into an 8 or 9 inch square pan, sprayed with Pam.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

A note or two about my recipe. I have a bit of a sweet tooth so I added in the dark chocolate chips and a little bit of stevia. I will be telling you more about NuNaturals NuStevia soon as it is a "nu" product for me. So far I've found this stevia bakes up beautifully and makes a great alternative to sugar. 

I think it's safe to say you can mix and match these recipes or go a little wild with your own creations. Add cinnamon, use almond extract, drizzle a touch of melted dark chocolate on top, mix craisins with chocolate, you decide. And, while you are chewing on that, I'm off to research cameras and make a strong cup of coffee.