Healthy Granola Bars

Healthy Lunchbox Granola Bars
(This recipe is very forgiving)

2 or 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (You can eliminate the sugar and add 1/4 honey)*
1/4 cup wheat or oat germ ( I sometimes substituted bran)
1/4 cup ground flax or whole flax
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I use brown rice flour)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup cherry-flavoured cranberries
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup honey (unpasteurized)*(3/4 cup if no brown sugar)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup canola oil (you could try substituting some of the oil with apple sauce)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
(Experiment with the ingredients you like best.) (nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter, sunflower seeds)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 baking pan.
2. In large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, flax, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the centre; pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Pat the mixture evenly into the pan.
3. Bake for about 30 minutes, but watch the baking time. If you leave them in too long, they’ll be dry and hard. Cool for 5 minutes, and then cut into bars or squares. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting or they will be too hard to cut.