Homemade Granola Bars

My children love granola bars. But if you look at the package, it's loaded with sugar. If you have a child that is allergic to nuts, this recipe is perfect and is also gluten free. I like making my own granola bars. It's not that difficult to make and much healthier. This recipe is not that sweet. The applesauce adds a nice chewy texture to the bar.

Make sure the bars have completely cooled down before you cut into squares.

Homemade Granola Bar, gluten and nut free

Homemade Granola Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees oven. Line a 8x8 inch square pan with parchment paper


2 cups         rolled oats

1/2 cup        packed brown sugar

2 tbsp.         unsalted butter

1/4 tsp.        salt

1/2 cup        unsweetened applesauce

1                  large egg

1/3 cup        pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup        chopped dates or raisins

2 tbsp.         chia seeds


Mix the oats, brown sugar, butter and salt until the butter is evenly blended. Sitr together the applesauce and egg. Add to the oat mixture along with the pumpkin seeds, dried fruit and chia seeds; stir until mixture is moistened.

Spread and press mixture into your 8 x 8 inch parchment lined pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting.

Polenta Fries

Polenta considered northern Italy's peasant food back in the day has now become a gourmet item. Even though my parents are from the central part of Italy, polenta was served particularly in the winter months. My mother would serve hot polenta with a delicious tomato sauce topped with homemade sausages.

Today I converted this plain corn flour into delicious fries. The dipping sauce is made of homemade tomato sauce. Adding a little hot pepper would add a little zing to this dish.

Polenta Fries Served With Spicy Tomato Sauce

Polenta Fries

Preheat Oven to 425 degrees F

4 cups water, salted
1 cup polenta flour (cornmeal)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Pinch salt and pepper

Boil the water. Add salt and polenta stirring constantly. For about 20 minutes or until mixture has thickened.

 

 

Once the mixture has thickened, remove from heat and add the rosemary and parmesan. Stir until well incorporated. Spread onto a greased baking sheet.

Refrigerate the polenta until completely cooled. For about an hour. In the meantime, you can start making the tomato sauce.

1 can of tomato puree (14 ounces)
2 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/2 onion
1 tsp salt
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes

Simmer all the ingredients above in a pot on medium heat. Cook for about 20-30 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, you can grab the polenta. Remove from pan and start slicing the polenta into fries. I dipped the wedges into rice flour to add more crispiness to the fries. You can use regular flour if you wish.

Bake the fries for about 25-30 minutes or until crispy; rotating the pan halfway through. Remove and sprinkle with more parmesan if you wish.

Healthy and gluten free!