I went home to visit my parents for Easter, before heading to L.A. for a writers conference. The timing worked out great because I got to spend a couple extra days with my family before making the short drive to Los Angeles. As always, it was a relaxing time in my hometown… going out for breakfast with Dad, running errands with Mom, watching a few good movies, reading a ton, and catching up on some playtime with Mr. Mur-dog! I also got in some quality baking time, as I always love to do when I am on vacation. Baking is so relaxing and nourishing for me!

Ready to do some baking in my Easter outfit!

One of my favorite things to do is when I’m at my parents’ house is to rifle through their pantry for ingredients that need to be used up, and then find a way to plug these into a recipe. This visit, I made a batch of my beloved three-ingredient cookies, substituting granola for the oats. I also made some lemon bars for Gramps, who joined us for Easter dinner. Then I noticed that Mom had a soon-to-be-expiring jar of jam to use up, along with a ton of oats. So after some online searching, I tweaked a recipe I found to make some healthy oat jam bars using the ingredients at hand. I loved these for dessert… and they are still healthy enough to eat for breakfast, too! I also think these would be a great road trip snack or a healthy snack for kiddos. {You don’t need to tell your kids how healthy these are!} 😉

In my own healthy living journey, I have been trying to eat fewer packaged and processed foods and to make more foods on my own. One thing I love about making my own food is that I know exactly what goes into it… and, in turn, exactly what is going into my belly. Also, baking takes way less time than I would have thought before I started doing it routinely. I typically like to bake on the weekends and enjoy treats most of the week! Baked-from-scratch goodness just feels fancier to me than store-bought treats. Many baked goods can easily be frozen for later, too, and then heated up in the microwave or toaster oven when you’re ready to eat ’em!

Another good thing about making your own snacks and breakfast foods and desserts, rather than buying them from the store? You save a lot of packaging waste, which really adds up over time in our landfills! AND you save money. It’s a win-win!

{This recipe was adapted from this one by Diana at My Humble Kitchen.}

• 1 & 1/2 cups whole wheat white flour
• 1 & 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup coconut oil or butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup agave
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup jam {I used raspberry}
• 1 cup fresh berries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a small glass baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, 1 cup of the oats, salt, cinnamon and baking soda.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the coconut oil or butter.
4. Stir the melted coconut oil or butter, the honey, and the agave together. Add to the dry mixture.
5. Transfer about 2/3 of the dough to the prepared baking pan. Pack the mixture down firmly.
6. With a spoon, spread the jam evenly over the dough.
7. Sprinkle the fresh berries throughout the jam layer.
8. Top the berry-jam layer with the remaining 1/3 of the dough.
9. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of oats over the top, being careful to cover any bare areas where the jam is peeking through.
10. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown. {Be careful not to over-bake — these burn easily!}

Note: Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Hope you enjoy! These make a wonderful breakfast, healthy dessert, or after-school snack!

if you liked this recipe you might also enjoy:
– raspberry brown-butter bars
– vegan healthier toffee bars
– quinoa breakfast bars via The Lean Green Bean
– homemade no-bake granola bars via PB Fingers