Chewy, fruity granola bars - the recipe

Now this is a very casual recipe, I've adapted it from a low GI cookbook and literally swop dried fruit with whatever I have in the cupboard, same for dried ingredients, seeds, and um cereal Almost anything in fact. The key is using ingredients you like, and having a similar balance of dried and wet ingredients. So here it is...

Ingredients

1 1/4 mug of rice crispies

1 1/4 mug of porridge oats

Handful of seeds - pumpkin or sunflower

Small handful of sesame seeds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 mug dried apricots

1/2 mug dried mixed fruit

1/2 mug apple juice

1/4 mug vegetable oil (or butter if you prefer)

1 egg lightly beaten

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 flat dessert spoon sugar or Splenda

2 dessert spoons Golden Syrup

Method

1. Preheat oven to Gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper (n.b. only recently discovered it can be cut to shape makes life a lot easier!)

2. Mix the cereals, seeds, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the dried fruit and mix in. Add the apple juice, oil, whole egg, and Golden Sugar. Sprinkle in the sugar or Splenda. Mix in the egg whites.

3. Using a spoon press the mixture in to the baking tin. Using a knife score out portion sized pieces.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes, let granola cool before cutting and removing from tin.

5. Enjoy - these can be wrapped and kept in a tin for up to a week or so, or frozen to defrost as required.