LUNCHBOX WINNERS: FRUIT AND SEED GRANOLA BARS

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

 Early starts, homework, field trip forms to sign, shoes full of sand (oh how I love shoes full of sand!), lost hats, gloves, coats and the great morning school lunch box dilemma!

Back to school can mean a lot of things but for me packing up those lunchboxes is a challenge I kind of like (Don't hate me!).  I see it as an important tool to ensuring my kids have a good day at school.  I know how tired and grumpy I get when I am hungry so I see my role as lunchbox filler as really important.


I try and steer away from shop bought anything and that includes my kids lunchboxes.  It's not always possible as time and life sometimes get in the way but a little forward planning, some freezer bags and a spare 10 minutes and you can have a batch of tasty granola bars stashed away- what's not to love about that!  Oh and they are so simple I get the kids to do the baking- its a win win situation! 



FRUIT & SEED GRANOLA BARS
INGREDIENTS

  • 100g butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 200g porridge oats
  • 100g sunflower seeds
  • 50g sesame seeds
  • 50g pumpkin seeds
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 100g soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 100g dried cranberries, cherries or blueberries, or a mix

METHOD

  1. Heat oven to 320F
  2. Butter and line the base of a 18 x 25cm tin.
  3. Mix the oats and seeds and place then in a roasting tin, then put in the oven for 5-10 mins to toast- don't skip this step, it adds so much toasted flavour to the finished bars.
  4. Meanwhile, warm the butter, honey and sugar in a pan, stirring until everything is melted together.
  5. Add the oat mix, cinnamon and dried fruit, then mix until all the oats are well coated.
  6. Tip into the tin, press down evenly, then bake for 30 mins. 
  7. Cool in tin, then cut into 12 bars or more if you want little bites of granola bar- I find that lots of little choices works better for my boys lunchboxes.







Simply bag them up individually, freeze and in the mornings when you need one simply pop it in the lunchbox.  It will defrost by dinner time and keep everything in the box cool at the same time.  


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