My tiny mini loves her puppy. We told her she is the puppy's mommy and she is owning that role. And, like most new mommies, she worries constantly that her puppy is hungry and not eating enough. So, she sneaks into the garage and gets handfuls of puppy food and puppy treats and hides in the corner and hand feeds her baby.
Mr. McGhee and our tiny mini took her baby to the vet last week. And guess what? Our puppy is overweight. And puppy's mommy (AKA tiny mini) did not take the news well because her baby is perfect just the way she is. And since we let our 3 year old mini call the shots, we decided.....we're going to have an overfed puppy. Because how can you say no to a mommy that does this.....
If you're wondering what my puppy drama has to do with my unprocessed cooking blog, I apologize. The two are pretty much unrelated except for the fact that I was worrying about my fat dog yesterday while I was cooking these granola bars for my skinny minis.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups
- 1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup
- 3 ounces sliced almonds, approximately 1 cup
- 1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approximately 1/2 cup
- 6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup
- 1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed
- 1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries
1. Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan (I added some ground flaxseed as well). Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved (and mixture starts to get foamy).
4. Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Use a buttered spatula to push down the mixture.
I added some dark chocolate chips as well. These are tasty and a great snack option for parents and minis. Just keep them away from chubby puppies.
