Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

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I finally got around to adding up our May grocery spending and was astonished and amazed by how well we did. Somehow we managed to spend the small amount of $336 on food.

WOW!

In April we spent $385 and I was super happy with that. It was first month we actually hit our $400 goal. I guess I’m on a roll now! During the last week in May I did feel like our fridge + pantry was a little low, but I think it’s because I’m used to having a large stockpile of food, Now instead I’m beginning to use a lot from that stockpile.

Since starting our new and improved budget the grocery bill hasn’t been the only place we’ve been saving money.

Another place we’re trying to save at is the ever growing gas bill.

Yup, not only are we trying to drive less, Jacob started riding his bike to work. 10 miles there, 10 miles home. That’s an awesome workout each day! The first week he totaled 60 miles, and the second week 80 miles. I think it’s so cool of him to ride into work.

One realization he’s had is that all the extra exercises makes him a lot more hungry. Makes sense, the boy’s burning many, many more calories. I wanted to make a snack that he could easily pack along to take with him. One that he’d really want to eat and would give him energy for work + the bike ride.

I’ve made these granola bars before and he loved them. They’re so simple to make and pretty darn tasty, if I do say so myself.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Makes 9 bars

Printer-friendly recipe!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan with olive oil spray.

In a large bowl mix together the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, sea salt and chocolate chips. In a small bowl whisk together the peanut butter, oil, applesauce and eggs. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined.

Press the mixture into the pan. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting and storing.

I keep them in an airtight container in the fridge, but you could easily leave them on the counter sealed up.

Now I’ve got to remember to add chocolate chips to the next grocery list to re-stock the granola bar supply!

Today it’s going to be a beautiful, sunny day and it should even get up into the 80s! That means yard work for a few hours before it gets too hot. We’re making really good progress on our backyard, but it seems like all the work we did a few weekends ago is already starting to grow back.

I’m in charge of maintenance, planting a bunch of hen-and-chick plants I was given + edging while Jacob clears a huge pile of yard debris we’ve been building + mowing.

After yard work we’re making our first trip to the farmer’s market this year. It’ll probably be packed bringing out the fair weather shoppers (us included). I’ll probably sneak in some house cleaning + organizing if I’m feeling super spunky. In the next month or two we have a fun house project we’ll be working on so expect to hear about that soon!

What’s on your Saturday agenda? Share some of your favorite go to snacks that are easy to pack along when you’re on the go?

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