Two of the phrases I will hear the most over the coming weeks are “I am bored” and ” I am hungry.” They will be closely followed by “Can I have screen time?”
If you have school aged kids on holidays, I am sure this sounds familiar to you.
As my 3 boys grow, keeping up with the what and how much they eat is quite a task. Even for this foodie, it’s quite a job making sure the house is stocked with nutritious food and lots of it for these active and growing boys.
These Craisin & Honey Oat Bars were my attempt at trying to make a healthy version of a muesli bar. The brief was; nut free so they were suitable for school, low sugar, made with simple pantry ingredients and freeze proof so they’re always available for lunch boxes, impromptu visitors and lazy holiday days.
These are super easy, and perfect for getting kids active in the kitchen. Just melt, mix and bake.
One handy tip is they do need to be cut into bars as soon as they are out of the oven. Simply score the lines with a sharp knife and then leave the bars in the tin to cool completely.
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup (250gm) craisins (dried cranberries)
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/4 sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 150 grams butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup rice malt syrup (raw sugar)
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees celsius fan forced).
- Grease and line a slice tin.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir.
- Place butter, honey, rice malt syrup or sugar in a small saucepan and stir over low heat till melted.
- Combine butter mixture and dry ingredients.
- Place in slice tin, smoothing the top of the slice down with the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until risen and golden.
- Immediately score the bar slices with a sharp knife.
- Leave to cool completely in the tin.
- Cut the bars through and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
- To freeze, wrap bars individually in plastic wrap.