Denise in Florida Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 My husband has a fairly long commute and likes to eat breakfast on the drive. Usually cut up apples, slices of cheese, chopped veggies or hard boiled eggs. Every now and then we get into buying granola bars. Not the super sweet General Mills stuff but the Kashi or Luna bar type. Even the 'betterish' kind have lots of junk in them so this week I baked a batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for him to take. I used good quality oatmeal and raisins, brown sugar, egg and butter (not margarine). I think, even if they are cookies they are healthier than the granola bars. He thinks cookie = too much sugar. I will probably make homemade granola bars next, I found several recipes to try. In the meantime, fresh homemade cookie :drool: or nasty boxed commercial granola bar :glare: ? What does the hive say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 The sugar content in most of the commercial bars is quite high, so I doubt your homemade cookies are any worse in that regard. The sodium content is often high in the commercial bars, as well. Tell your dh to appreciate all of your hard work or you'll start sending him off to work with Pop-Tarts, while you save the cookies for yourself! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Put the recipe into myfitnesspal.com and you'll be able to figure out how much sugar and carbs per cookie so that you can compare. (I vote in favor of the homemade oatmeal cookie for the butter alone) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 I think the homemade cookie is a better choice. Now I am thinking it has been awhile since I made granola bars. I love the barefoot contessas recipe. I do omit the brown sugar. They are plenty sweet with just the honey and dried fruit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 I think the homemade cookie is a better choice. Now I am thinking it has been awhile since I made granola bars. I love the barefoot contessas recipe. I do omit the brown sugar. They are plenty sweet with just the honey and dried fruit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatechip Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 I vote the cookie over commercial bars. If you end up making homemade bars it would probably be less sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 hive cannot beat empirical evidence. Look at the nutritional info on the packaged product. Run your recipe through one of the calorie/nutritional analysis websites. Compare calories, fat (saturated, unsaturated, trans & cholesterol), sugar, fiber per serving. then you can argue about whether it's better to have more sugar or more fats. Your cookies have saturated fats & cholesterol - something that a Luna bar doesn't have for example... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 I doubt there is a huge difference. Neither scream health food to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 hive cannot beat empirical evidence. Look at the nutritional info on the packaged product. Run your recipe through one of the calorie/nutritional analysis websites. Compare calories, fat (saturated, unsaturated, trans & cholesterol), sugar, fiber per serving. then you can argue about whether it's better to have more sugar or more fats. Your cookies have saturated fats & cholesterol - something that a Luna bar doesn't have for example... Or, to simplify the process, she can send the homemade cookies to me and I can do a "scientific" study on them. I have very advanced taste buds. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Homemade cookies...absolutely. You could reduce the sugar by using mashed bananas or applesauce. You could up the fiber by adding nuts or ground flax seeds. Also consider Hi-Maize Flour from King Arthur. I seem to remember a relatively easy recipe for peanut butter granola bars that Giada DiLaurentis used. She uses 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup of honey for 24 (small) bars. I'm assuming most cookie recipes would have about double the sweetener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 It's gonna depend on how much of what you put into the cookies. Just enter the recipe into myfitnesspal or any other tracker and compare it to the boxed bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 The homemade-by-his-beloved cookie is the better choice on all levels for one intangible but hugely important ingredient...love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Maybe it's the nuts in the granola bar that he finds more satisfying? "Too sweet" my be his way of explaining that a cookie just isn't a satisfying breakfast whereas a granola bar might have enough nuts and more savory flavors to fill him up and balance out the sugar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Make the cookie dough, but instead of individual cookies, put the dough into a oblong pan. Bake until done. Cut into bars. Viola--oatmeal granola bars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Dh prefers KIND bars--the ones with 5g or less sugar. We call them candy bars and he usually eats them for dessert. Pricey, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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