momstown Milton Jr Chefs Create Nut Free Back to School Granola Bars!

We had a great time playing in the kitchen this month at momstown Milton Junior Chef!  Our little culinary enthusiasts mixed, measured and poured as they created delicious and healthy granola bars! With our monthly momstown theme being birds this month, we also highlighted nutritious and delicious seeds in this recipe.

With the start of the school year quickly approaching, what better time to learn a new recipe that will be a healthier take on the packaged granola bar?  The recipe is nut free, quick and easy to prepare, and customisable to your kids' tastes.

This is the recipe we used: 

Ingredients

2 cups oats

1/2 cup sugar
 

1/2 tsp. salt
 

1/4 tsp. cinnamon or other spices as desired (cardamom, nutmeg, etc.)
 

*2 1/2 cups additions: dried fruits, seeds, nuts, flax meal, bran cereal, chocolate chips ... the combinations are endless!
 

1/3 cup peanut or other nut butter  (SUBSTITUTE 1/3c mashed banana or apple sauce)
 

6 Tbsp. olive oil ­ canola oil, other oils, and melted butter will work here as well
 

1/4 cup honey, maple syrup, or Agave syrup
 

1 egg white
 

1 Tbsp. water

Instructions:
 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Depending on desired thickness, line a square (8x8 or 9x9) or rectangular (9x13) baking dish with parchment paper, then lightly grease the paper with non­stick cooking spray, oil, or butter.
 

2. Process 1/3 cup of the oats in a blender or food processor until finely ground.
 

3. If necessary, chop up dried fruit and nuts. Raisin­ size pieces are fine, but dried apricots should be chopped.
 

4. Stir together all dry ingredients (oats, ground oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon, fruits/nuts/seeds).
 

5. Whisk together wet ingredients ­ oil, honey, egg white, peanut butter/banana, and water.
 

6. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, then spread in the pan. Press firmly into the corners and edges so the top is even.
 

7. Bake for around 30 minutes, until the top starts to brown. Thicker bars will likely take longer, so you'll need to watch them, depending on how much batter you've spread in what size pan. The edges will become deep golden and they may feel underdone in the center, but that's okay. They'll firm quite nicely as they cool.
 

8. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack completely before removing from pan.

*(we used 3/4c choc chips, 1/4c each of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax meal, shredded coconut, 1/2c raisins)

The original recipe had peanut butter, but we substituted that with mashed banana.  I have since substituted with apple sauce and it is a yummy alternative.  I tried about 5 different recipes and this one is my favorite.  It could also be made gluten free if you use gluten free oats (and ensure your add-ins are also GF).

We started with the dry ingredients.  The kids took turns measuring a whole lot of yummy things into our big mixing bowl.  Oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and all of the delicious fixings that we chose for our bars: chocolate chips, raisins, flax meal, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and shredded coconut.

 

We moved on to our wet ingredients and added them to a separate bowl: olive oil, mashed banana, honey, an egg white, and water.  Everyone took turns whisking.

The wet mixture was poured into our dry ingredients and mixed.

The granola bar recipe was then poured into a parchment lined 9X13 baking pan, pressed down firmly and evenly, and baked at 350 for 30 minutes.  The key to making the granola bars stick together is letting them cool completely in the pan.  

Everyone got to try a bar, and they were a hit.

Note: Recipe adapted from Honest Cooking http://honestcooking.com/homemade­chewy­granola­bars­recipe/

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Submitted by Paula Porter, a momstown Milton member and mother of two amazing girls.

Metro Ontario brings fresh ideas for a healthy lunch to our momstown Milton Junior Chef Program

Schools in and the most challenging thing other then getting the kids out the door on time is coming up with fresh ideas and ensuring that you are are packing a healthy lunch that your child will actually want to consume. Metro Ontario helped out momstown Milton moms this month at our Junior Chef program by sponsoring the groceries. The moms and tots had the opportunity at a  hands on experience to assemble some quick and simple lunches that allowed the kids to sample some new tastes to stimulate their palates.

We had four stations set up and each child got to visit each one and try all of the goodies that were set before them. The moms were skeptical at first stating "my child won't eat veggies" or "wraps and avocado hummus are not the staples of my child's diet" but were willing to give it a try.

We rotated through four stations. The Sandwich stop - which consisted of:

Selection Whole Wheat Bread

Selection Whole Wheat Wraps

Carrots

Cucumbers

Selection Marble Cheese

Selection Cream Cheese

Selection Raspberry Jam

Black Forest Ham

Avocado Hummus

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

The kids made raspberry and cream cheese sandwiches and cut them into flower and star shapes. Getting rid of the crusts and having cute shapes was enough of a change for them to devour their creations before they even got into the bags. The wraps were piled high with shredded cheese, shredded carrots, cucumbers, hummus and ham. The kids took pride in their creation and I  strongly believe that was the reason why so many of them ate it with out a fuss or hesitation. Food for thought: making the time to let your kids participate in lunch prep could be the key to ensuring that their  lunch bags come back empty!

The snack station was set up in an assembly style format. Bowls of:

 

Selection mini marshmallows

Stick Pretzels

Irresistibles Berry Medley Dried Fruit

Quaker Corn Bran Squares

The kids got to measure, scoop, and count the the number of spoons they put into their bags and couldn't wait to get it filled so that they could shake it up to see the assortment of colours and shapes. The Sweet and Salty mix was also a great combo since it was sure to have something that each one would enjoy. Variety seemed to be key at this station and textures with soft, chewy and a crunch blend kept it interesting for all.

The Fruit Kabobs Station was a crowd pleaser. So simple yet so good! The kids got to practice their hand eye coordination threading the bite size pieces of fruit onto their skewers and the moms had fun trying out the handy dandy apple slicer that cored the apples within seconds.

Apples

Cantaloupe

Grapes

Strawberries

The assortment of colours made for a very bright finished masterpiece and was loads of fun to take apart bite by bite. Keeping it fun is a sure way to make sure that there are no leftovers.

The final stop was our drink and craft station. After all their hard work, most were ready for a bottle of water or Selection summer blend or apple juice boxes.

 

 

 

For our crafts, we made glam lunch bags using sequences and hearts and of course since we were building awareness of the Metro Do the Math promo, we had pricing stickers and numbers to add as the finishing touches.

The moms could not believe that all of the groceries at the event totaled just about $100! We had over 20 little ones, plus mamas and there were leftovers..... What a deal! Even better, the moms got to take home reusable lunch bags and a $10 Gift Certificate to help out with the already great savings that Metro has to offer.

Don't forget to save your receipt and get on line to the Metro Ontario Facebook Page and enter their Daily draw. Each day one lucky winner will be awarded $1000 for yourself, $1000 for the school of your choice and 1000 air mile points.

If you are a mom in the Milton or surrounding area we encourage you to check out momstown Milton  for a 6 week free trial membership. During your trial you can join us for as many programs as you like. After that it's only $45/year to become a member. Click here to register!