Check out this easy recipe to making a healthy breakfast bar snack. Let us know how they taste!

Ingredients

• 1 cup old-fashioned or quick oats (not instant)
• 7 oz. mixed dried fruit
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened cocunut (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond or peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon low-fat or fat free milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. Toss together in a bowl the oats, dried fruit, sugar, cocunut, walnuts, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Blend together in a second bowl the honey, olive oil, almond butter, milk, and vanilla. Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir until completely coated.
4. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press firmly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until beginning to brown and turn bubbly.
5. Remove from oven, let stand for 10 minutes, and then cut while still warm. Let cool completely before removing from the pan.
6. Store in airtight container. Bars will last up to a week. Makes eight servings.

Recipe courtesy of the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” campaign. Article first appeared in the October 2013 issue of Minnesota Good Age.