Home made granola bars recipe

Did I mention I'm trying to cut back on my baking? Well, not so much the baking as the eating of the baked goods. These are a bit of an in-between. I'm not sure they can honestly be called 'healthy'. They have about the same calories as a Mars bar, but they do have way more nutritional value. Pretty easy to make too, and very tasty.

Ingredients makes 12 bars

100g butter/marg
200g porridge oats
50g sunflower seeds
50g chopped walnuts
3 tbsp honey
100g light brown sugar
100g dried fruits (I used apricots)

 Method

- Put the oven on 160c or the equivalent
- Put the oats, nuts and seeds on a baking tray and toast for 5-10 minutes in the oven
- Melt the butter, sugar and honey together in a pan
- Mix the oats, nuts, seeds and fruits in with the butter mixture
- Tip it out on to a baking tray (25cm x 18ish) which is either greased or lined with baking paper
- Lightly press the mix into the tray so that it will hold together
- Bake for around 30mins
- I suggest cutting it before it cools as it gets quite solid once it has set
- Enjoy for breakfast or as a tasty snack :)

New project: wedding bolero prototype

Yes, a new sewing project! Wow it's been a long time. I suppose I've had less reason to sew recently but with the wedding planning getting going again I was inspired to start something new.

It's quite exciting actually. I've chosen my wedding dress, I can't show you because it's a surprise, but it's very cool. I did originally think that I might make my own dress, but I'm glad I changed my mind. It's much less stressful to know I can leave that up to someone else.

I do want to make some things though. It seems silly not to use my skills and also it adds a more personal element, knowing you've put work into creating something. Since we are getting married in October I thought a jacket might be in order in case it's chilly. You never know with the weather in this country, it might be a bright autumn day or a dark winter one.

So here it is - a prototype for a wedding bolero/shrug type thing. I started off with New Look pattern 6507. I changed the shape of the front quite a lot and made it shorter. I also thought about maybe making the top of the sleeves a bit puffier? I've been very good and transferred my changes back to my paper pattern for when I make the real thing.

The final one will probably be a different colour so I'll need to find some more lace or create a ruffle for the edge. It's a shame really as that one works nicely!

What do you think?