Nutty cereal bars

I've been playing around with another snack bar recipe.  Somewhat surprisingly, the peanut butter granola bars were a fair hit with our little one and I wanted to try another variation to mix things up a little.  The result is this cereal bar made of puffed cereal, almonds, and sesame seeds. 

I think I might've pushed my luck a little too far with the nuts - the little guy was not a fan of these (it didn't help that he was in no mood to try something new when I presented them).  On the whole, I liked these - they're slightly chewy yet crunchy (from all those nuts) and just a tad sweet from some honey.  They do tend to crumble so it's a bit messy.  It helps to keep it in the fridge and the best part is you can store it there for about 3 weeks.

The original recipe uses sliced almonds and cashews and in retrospect, it would've been a better idea to mix the nuts as opposed to going with all almonds like I did.  I was trying to play it safe because while I like cashews, they can be a little too rich...plus, I know the little guy would not go for cashews at all.  So long story short, there's a lot of almonds in every bite.  I'm ok with that as a person who loves almonds but a little of this goes a long way. 

Peanut butter granola bars

Today, I'm trying out some peanut butter granola bars.  I think they'd be good as part of our rotation of after school (or after the park or some kind of exercise) snack options for the little one.  In a bind, these make a quick breakfast bar. 

Peanut butter is the predominant flavor of these bars (sorry if you are allergic) but its bulk comes from old-fashioned oats.  There are also a bit of slivered almonds and mini chocolate chips - all flavors I personally enjoy.  I adapted this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, making a couple of changes based on reviewer comments.  I used to wonder who these people are who do reviews and make comments on websites and post up all those youtube videos.  Now I've really come to appreciate and value constructive participation.  You can learn a lot from what others have tried and discovered. 

I think these granola bars were a success in my house.  Bare in mind that my 6-year old son decided somewhere along the way in the last year or so that he doesn't like nuts.  I think he just wants to dislike things that I tell him are good for him and I know he doesn't really dislike nuts as much as he claims.  He eats peanut butter and used to love walnuts, and I know he's ok with almonds.  He also won't eat oatmeal on its own (he doesn't like anything hot) though he's down with an oatmeal crisp or oatmeal cookies.  So I'm happy to report that he does like (I didn't say love) these granola bars and I don't think he'd mind seeing them as part of his snack rotation.  Personally, I think the bars are quite tasty, with a nice chewy texture.  The toasted almonds go well with the peanut butter also.  These are quite filling so a small piece goes a long way.