Granola Bars
I was looking for something for Amber’s lunchbox. Something different, like Granola Bars that I could pop in the freezer in little bags and have ready to grab in the morning to put in her lunch box. I came up with the idea of a granola bar for her, so the search was on for a recipe. I did not have to look far as I first went to a recipe book that I helped put together when I was nursing many years ago.
In there was a great recipe for granola bars by Shelley McDonald. With a few tweaks, omissions, and additions, here is what I came up with. They are absolutely fabulous and only today will two of them make it into her lunch box as the entire recipe has been devoured by all. I will have to make this again as they are so very good and so very easy!!
A Real Treat!
They are a treat as they are not light in fat or sugar but do have health benefits as I added hemp for a nutty flavor and omitted the nuts so they are safe at school. I added two berries and omitted the raisins from the original recipe.
They are gluten-free too if you buy the right oatmeal that hasn’t been cross-contaminated with flour. A delicious snack for any time of the day and they stay fresh in a sealed container for many days.

Granola Bars
A delicious granola bar for anytime of the day!!
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 56 gm. package hemp hearts
- 1 cup each sunflower seeds and chocolate chips
- 1 cup each dried blueberries & Craisins
- Can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line a 15x10" pan with foil and grease foil.
- Combine all ingredients and mix well. Press evenly into pan.
- Bake for 25-30 min. or until lightly browned. Cool and then remove from pan.
- Peel off foil and cut into bars. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 178Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 355mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 4g
Recipe calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
Adapted from a recipe by Shelley McDonald
Comments & Reviews
Melissa says
What are hemp hearts? Is there something else I can sub?
Noshing with the Nolands says
I just found them at the grocery store but if you don’t have problems with nuts you can add walnuts, pecans etc.
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Can a granola bar be beautiful? If so, then yours wins! Thanks for sending the link to me – I’m looking at all baked granola bars now. This is the second one I’ve seen today with hemp hearts. I know I cooked with hemp in school, but I don’t remember much about it, and nothing about hemp hearts. I’m allergic to nuts, as it my husband, so this could be something I should be looking into!
Noshing with the Nolands says
If my daughter is taking them to school she can’t have peanuts or tree nuts in them, so I thought the hemp hearts would add a nice nutty flavor to them.