Granola bars and Mac and Cheese

I have never been one to claim to be "whole foods" or "organic" in my cooking and eating.  The reason - I like oreos too much.  BUT as I became a mom and I have begun to watch what we are consuming a little more and I have tried to make some "replacements" into our diet.  There are a few things that my kids love to eat and will eat all the time so I have replaced the manufactured version with a homemade, more whole-food version and my kids love it and I feel better about them eating it.

So these are the two recipes that I get asked for the most and they are also the two recipes I make the most, almost weekly, for our family.

Granola Bars:  My kids were clearing through a box of granola bars every  few days and I thought they were a healthy snack until I took a close look at the ingredients and just saw a lot of sugar, etc in them.  So the search was on for a healthier version.  This recipe was originally from allrecipes.com but I have altered it to make the bars a little chewier.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
5 Tbsp Honey
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (we also have peeled and chopped/blended two apples up and it works great!)
2 tsp vanilla
2 and a half cups rolled oats (I've used instant as well and it works fine)
1 cup chocolate chips (we love chocolate but you could substitute with raisans, craisins, etc to make mroe healthy)
1/2 cup mini marshmellows (my kids love these but you could also substitute with nuts, etc)
1/2 cup cereal (we use rice crispies or cheerios usually)
2/3 cup wheat germ or flax seed

Mix altogether.  Press down in a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake 20 min at 350. 

My kids will literally eat this pan in two days.  Yes there still is sugar in it but I feel better about the sugar coming from honey and apples than from refined sugars. 

The other winner in our house is Homemade Mac and Cheese (or Slimy Mac as my kids call it).  This recipe was originally from Kraft.com but I decreased the amount of sour cream and increased the amt of cottage cheese.  This consists of
 2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles - cook as directed then mix with the following in a greased baking dish:
   1 and half cups light sour cream
   1 and half cups light, small curd cottage cheese
   2 cups sharp cheddar shredded cheese

Mix well and bake at 350 for 30 min.

There you have them.  My two replacement "go-tos"  I feel better about eating a few oreos after I have saved us from sugar in some of these other ways