I was up all night sowing my Wild Oat Bars.

Technically, they aren’t “my” Oat Bars since Julie Nodgaard gave me the original recipe but I made them so maybe it’s not entirely unethical to call them mine. That, and I went to the trouble of changing the name of the recipe from Oat Bars to Wild Oat Bars because you can get a little crazy and create many variations just by changing an ingredient or two.
I made a few substitutions to Julie’s recipe, so today I am going to share two versions of the Wild Oat Bar recipe. It’s kind of like stumbling upon a BOGO sale–it’s your lucky day!

If you are a fan of oatmeal granola bars, then these recipes are for you. These bars are really easy to whip together and make a great, wholesome, post-workout oat meal.

Before the big reveal, I want to point out two things about today’s photo:

1. I will not be winning any photo journalism awards if I keep posting cell phone pictures, and;
2. I was up LATE baking these oat bars to share with you

So without further delay…

From the kitchens of Julie and Joanna Crocker:

JULIE’S WILD OAT BARS

Dry ingredients:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
• 1 cup fruit (raisins, chopped apples, dried cherries or cranberries, dates, etc.)
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda

Wet ingredients:

• 1-6 oz. carton plain, low fat or nonfat yogurt
• 1 whole egg or 2 egg whites
• 2 Tbs. melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-4 Tbs. honey

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Mix wet ingredients thoroughly. Pour wet into dry and mix thoroughly. Press the mixture into an 8 or 9 inch square pan, sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

JOANNA’S WILD OAT BARS

Dry ingredients:

• 3 cups of your custom Moja Mix cereal
• 1 heaping handful of Ghirardelli chocolate chips!
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 2T NuStevia Sweetener Stevia Baking Blend

Wet ingredients:

• 1-6 oz. carton plain, low fat or nonfat yogurt
• 2 egg whites
• 2 Tbs. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-4 Tbs. agave nectar

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Mix wet ingredients thoroughly. Pour wet into dry and mix thoroughly. Press the mixture into an 8 or 9 inch square pan, sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

A note or two about my recipe. I have a bit of a sweet tooth so I added in the dark chocolate chips and a little bit of stevia. I will be telling you more about NuNaturals NuStevia soon as it is a “nu” product for me. So far I’ve found this stevia bakes up beautifully and makes a great alternative to sugar.

I think it’s safe to say you can mix and match these recipes or go a little wild with your own creations. Add cinnamon, use almond extract, drizzle a touch of melted dark chocolate on top, mix craisins with chocolate, you decide. And, while you are chewing on that, I’m off to research cameras and make a strong cup of coffee.