Wednesday, April 22, 2009

GRANOLA, GRAPEFRUIT, BANANA, AND HONEY

















Most mornings a simple breakfast is what I need. Few store bought granola bars cut it, so I experimented with making my own for the first time. I have such a variety of nuts in my fridge, it was the perfect time to try. I always start out on the Food Network, because there are tons of reviews and I can find out what works and what doesn't. I went with a Peanut Butter Granola Bar from Emeril and made a few tweaks. For example, I used a pre-toasted bag of rolled oats that was slightly sweetened and berry flavored from Trader Joe's (of course). Instead of dairy butter I used the Earth Balance. Whole chopped raw almonds replaced slivered almonds, and I omitted the pumpkin seeds, the raisins and the brown sugar since the granola was already a bit sweet. What I ended up with was a few irregularly shaped "bars" and a lot of delicious granola crumbles that I can sprinkle on everything. I want to experiment more with savory granola bars. Ideas: chile-lime with coconut, masala chai with coconut milk, pistachio with rosewater, pumpkin spice. 

Pictured: Peanut Butter Granola Bar, Grapefruit and Banana drizzled with Honey 

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