Oatmeal Raisin Cereal Bars

Snack, snack, snack. That is what we do. All. Day. Long. Everyday.

Seriously. Luke packs a a lunch and 3 to 4 snacks. I eat a small lunch and 3 or 4 snacks through the day and Maddy, well Maddy eats pretty much all the time.  Okay not really all the time but the kids likes to snack even more than her parents. Because of all the snacking going on in this house I am always looking for new, different, yummy and most importantly healthy snacks.

That is why granola, cereal and snack bars are a very important part of my weekly or bi-weekly baking. Bars can be packed full of deliciousness while still being portable and yummy for the whole family.

Oatmeal Raisin Bar Ingredients

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups oats
1 cup flax seed meal
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup applesauce
1/3 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13inch pan.

Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, oats and flax seed meal in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl mix eggs, oil, applesauce, agave nectar, and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Stir raisins and walnuts into batter. Pour batter into pan and smooth out until flat and evenly spread. Batter will be pretty thick and it may be easiest to spread with wet hands.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside and let cool completely. Once cool cut into bars or squares to your liking. For adult servings I suggest cutting across the pan length wise and then cutting bars by cutting across the pan width wise, usually making 7 to 8 cuts and getting 16 to 18 bars. For child or smaller servings I suggest making 2 cuts across the pan length wise, essentially cutting the pan into 3 thin columns and then slicing the columns 7 or 8 times making 21 to 24 bars.