Easy Muesli Bars

January 12, 2018 · 2 Comments

This recipe is ridiculously easy to make. Just throw everything in a bowl, mix and bake!

As much as I love cooking, keeping up a constant supply of home-made real food for the family can be quite time-consuming.

So the easier the recipe, the more chance it is that it will be on high rotation in our house. I always make double batches and freeze too.

You can even get the kids making this one it’s so simple and fuss-free.

Of course you get the added benefits of it being much cheaper than buying muesli bars, there is zero packaging and you know exactly what’s in your food.

Give them a go and let me know what you think.

Easy Muesli Bars

Vital Stats: Wheat free, dairy free, nut free, vegetarian

This is what you need:

3 cups muesli

1/2 cup sultanas

2 bananas

1 egg

1 tablespoon coconut oil

This is how you do it:

Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Line a slice tin with non-toxic baking paper.

Mash the banana and whisk in the egg and coconut oil. Add the muesli and mix well.

Smooth into your slice tin with a spatula or the back of a wet spoon.

Bake for 20 minutes or until nice and firm.

Let cool before you slice with a bread knife.

Hot tips:

We make up our own muesli but any good quality muesli is okay. Ideally, try to get one that’s organic and without sulphur dioxide in the dried fruit.

If you want to make these for lunchboxes, just make sure your muesli has no nuts. Use seeds, coconut and fruit instead.

Want more recipes?

10 Healthy Muesli Bars

30 Super Healthy Lunch Box Snacks

20 Nut-Free Lunch Box Snacks

Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Muesli Bars

January 21, 2014 · 50 Comments

This is such an easy and tasty recipe that is perfect for lunch boxes.

I guess they aren’t really ‘muesli’ bars as they don’t contain oats! But you can certainly use oats instead of quinoa if you like.

Quinoa (pronounced KeenWah) is incredibly nutritious – it’s very high in protein. Combined with all the seeds and eggs, these bars will have you fuelled up and ready to go!

HOT TIP: You can use any combination of dried fruits,nuts and seeds – as long as the mixture you add to the eggs equals 5 cups.

Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Muesli Bars

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, dairy free, nut free, refined sugar free

Okay, so this is what you need:

1/2 cup organic quinoa, dry

1 cup dried apple

1 cup organic sultanas

1/2 cup dried organic figs

1/2 cup organic sunflower seeds

1/2 cup organic pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/2 cup organic shredded coconut

1/4 cup organic chia seeds

1/4 cup organic sesame seeds

3 organic, free range eggs

2 tablespoons organic maple syrup or honey (optional)

2 teaspoons organic ceylon cinnamon

2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract

Hot tip: choose organic dried fruit where you can, as it doesn’t contain preservatives.

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Preheat the oven to 160° celsius. Line a slice tray with a non-toxic baking paper.

Rinse the quinoa really well (I soak for a bit and then rinse). This is really important as quinoa has a bitter saponins that coat it and need to be removed.

Cook the quinoa in a saucepan with 1 cup of filtered water. It will take about ten minutes. You will know it’s cooked because it becomes translucent.

HOT TIP: Make extra quinoa and store it in the fridge or freezer. It’s fantastic added to a salad or used instead of rice.

Cool the quinoa right down (you don’t want scrambled eggs)!

Chop the apple and figs. You can use the food processor or thermomix to do this.

Mix all the ingredients together well. I like to get my hands in and give it a good massage!

Press it firmly down into the slice tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked.

I cover the slice halfway through the cooking time with some baking paper so it doesn’t burn on top.

Cool on a wire rack before slicing with a bread knife into bars.

These freeze really well, so make a double batch and you will always have some on hand!

Makes about 12 large bars.

Want more?

Check out my 10 Healthy Muesli Bar recipes.

30 Super Healthy Lunch Box Snacks

January 18, 2014 · 67 Comments

30 Super Healthy Lunch Box Snacks

If I could encourage parents to do one thing, it would be to take a little time to make some real food snacks for their children’s lunch boxes. Less packet food and more whole food makes a huge difference to kid’s health.

I hope you find some inspiration with these 30 super healthy lunch box snacks!

I would love you to add to the list, so please leave me comments and links!

Okay, let’s go…..

1. Fruit Kebabs.

Because everything is more fun when you put it on a stick! Use paddle pop sticks for littlies to avoid accidents with pointy skewers! If your kids are really fussy, some fun shapes might be needed.

2. Popcorn.

It’s a wholegrain and surprisingly healthy! Just don’t buy the microwave packets – buy an organic popcorn and pop it in some coconut oil or use a popcorn machine. Jazz it up a bit with Herbamare, organic spice mixes or try my Salted Caramel Popcorn.

3. Trail Mix.

Have fun with the kids making up your own combos of dried fruit, seeds, coconut and nuts (if allowed). Make them into Quirky Cooking’s Trail Mix Clusters. Just make sure the dried fruit you are eating is safe.

4. Apple Snax.

Soooo cool! Use a little lemon juice to stop the apple from browning, sandwich together for ease of transport and use seed butters or homemade nutella if your school is no-nuts! Inspired by Justina Blakeney.

5. Custard.

Homemade custard with a healthy sugar and organic ingredients is so much better for your kids than the supermarket variety! Try this dairy-free Strawberry Coconut Custard recipe from Iwa at Additive Free Bites. Yum!

6. Bliss Balls.

A powerhouse of nutrition in a single bite (or two)! Check out my Amazeballs! 10 Amazing Bliss Balls post for recipe inpsiration. The Apricot Muesli Balls are pretty good too!

7. Cheese Puffs.

A totally brilliant recipe from Vegie Smugglers for the kids who like savoury stuff. Add in a heap of vegetables and some Vital Veggie Power and the kids are eating super healthy!

8. Crackers.

Be wary of store-bought crackers. They are a minefield of canola oil, additives (including msg) and refined salt. We love the easy seed crackers recipe – easy to make and nut free!

HOT TIP: If your school has a nut-free policy, try substituting seeds for nuts in recipes. Sunflower seeds make great ‘butter’ and flour!

9. Muffins.

Who doesn’t love a muffin? Make sure they are homemade though, to avoid all the nasties! I have 10 Healthy Muffin recipes for you on the blog to get you started.

10. Yoghurt.

Again, homemade is best – make a big batch, add some fresh fruit puree and pop it into reusable containers or squeeze pouches. If you are dairy-free, it’s easy to make your own coconut yoghurt at home!

11. Apple Slinkies.

One of the best inventions ever! Why fruit is more appealing in a slinky shape, I have no clue. But, hey, whatever works. Lisa from Happy Tummies says she keeps the core in and skin on and they don’t go brown.

12. Banana Bread.

So incredibly tasty, healthy and popular with kids. I have heaps of banana bread recipes for some inspiration.

13. Vege Sticks and Dip.

Kids like a dip! Choose the veges your kids will eat or cut them into shapes if you need too. Baby qukes, snowpeas and cherry tomatoes are all sweet and tasty. Add a healthy, homemade dip and away you go. You could try my Easy Green Dip or the Wholefood Mama’s Carrot Hommus. For easy transport, pop the dip in the bottom of a small jar and fill with veges!

14. Scrolls.

So, a scroll is basically a scone dough, rolled out into a rectangle shape, sprinkled with toppings, rolled up, sliced and baked in a hot oven. Adapt the flours and ingredients to suit your needs! Make them savoury with veges, tomato paste and cheese or sweet with homemade nutella or fruits. Try these Pumpkin Cheesymite Scrolls from Lisa at Happy Tummies.

15. Muesli Bars.

Making your own muesli bars at home is so economical and tasty! Try my Blueberry Breakfast Slice, Easy Muesli Bars, Date and Oat Bars or my Gluten Free, Nut Free Muesli Bars.

16. Kale Chips.

They are all the rage and they are incredibly nutritious. Find out how to make them at my Kale Chips… what’s the go? post. My Sweet Potato Chips are also pretty good cold if the kids won’t come at anything green.

17. Pikelets.

Yum. Try these Blueberry Buckwheat Pikelets from the always delicious Veggie Mama. They are gluten-free! Or if you know how to market it right, the green pancakes are also fantastic!

18. Smoothies.

Great for kids who struggle to eat lunch. Pop a smoothie in a small jar or thermos and your kids get a whole lot of nutrients in a drink! Make a green smoothie or try my Choc Banana Protein Smoothie.

19. Apricot Coconut Slice.

A tasty little morsel for kids – the real food version of thehealth food aisle packet snack! It’s a quick, no bake snack you can make in a hurry. Apricot coconut slice is a winner in our house!

HOT TIP! Save yourself a heap of time and energy by making double or triple batches of healthy snacks and freezing them. Pop them in the lunch boxes straight from the freezer.

20. Cake.

Let them eat cake. Seriously. But don’t buy it, make it with whole foods.

21. Roasted Chickpeas.

Just soak a packet of organic chickpeas overnight. Rinse well, add some coconut oil or macadamia oil and your choice of seasoning. Roast in a moderate oven for about an hour or until really crispy. Very yummy!

22. Biscuits.

There is such a thing as a healthy biscuit! Try my Coconut Biccies or the 2 Ingredient Biscuits for inspiration.

23. Granola.

Granola is simply muesli that you whack in the oven with a little honey or maple syrup until it’s nice and crunchy. You can make it with all sorts of yummy things and it makes a great little snack.

24. Boiled Eggs.

A perfect snack for little hands! If you want, you can make them into fancy shapes with bento tools or just a wooden spoon!

25. Jazzed Up Dates.

Get medjool (fresh) dates or dried dates, spread with nut or seed butter or homemade nutella and then roll in coconut. Wedge a few almonds into a date and it will look like a cute turtle!

26. Raw Popcorn/Cauliflower Bites.

A super healthy snack – cheesey, dehydrated, raw cauliflower pieces from Sarah at The Raw Food Mum. Get the recipe here.

27. Apple Thins.

A brilliant recipe from Jane at Marinya Cottage Kitchen. Part cracker, part biscuit, all yum. They are free from grain, gluten, egg, dairy, nuts and refined sugar! Win.

28. Mini Fritters.

I’ve seen many vege-hating kids happily hoover up a vege fritter! Make them according to your tastes – they are easy to make gluten and dairy free. I love the fun face presentation of these ones at Taste. Just press on your veges to make cute faces before you flip them. If you have a thermomix, Taryn shows you how simple and quick they are to make with her Very Veggie Fritters recipe.

29. Homemade Banana Chips.

These taste like lollies! Sooo good! Just pop a little fruit juice or coconut oil onto banana slices and bake in a low oven or dehydrator until dried out. Store in an air-tight container.

30. Packet Snacks

Sometimes you just need a packet snack when time is short or the kids want a treat. There are some great crap-free superfood bars on the market now – have a read of the ingredients first though!