Kids Lunchbox Club - Nut Bars

A wonderful sugar free treat for your kids (or your own) lunchbox. 

These bars are super easy to make and they are really tasty.

If your school is nut free then just substitute seeds as needed.

VEGAN SUPER BARS (as named by my daughter)

aka NUT BARS

You'll need:

1 1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup dessicated coconut

2 Tablespoons sunflower seeds

2 Tablespoons pepitas

150g soft silken tofu

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Blend the tofu, maple syrup and apple sauce together until smooth and creamy.

Smash the nuts. I find it easiest to do this in a sandwich bag, using a 'meat' mallet.

Combine the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut and tofu mixture together in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Pour into a lined 20cm x 30cm lamington tin.

Bake in a preheated 160C oven for 40-45 minutes until browned and mixture holds together.

Cool before slicing.

 Makes 14 pieces (depending on the size you cut them too). 

Wrap in foil and decorative paper for added lunchbox appeal! ;-)

Best served with 'dolphin fruit' ;-)

Submitted to Meatless Monday - Tofu cooking.

Kids Lunchbox Club - Butterfly Snacks

Butterfly Snacks

An easy lunchbox treats that the kiddies are sure to love!

You'll need:

An assortment of nuts, seeds and dried fruit

A snack size zip lock bag (I use 15cm x 9cm)

A twist tie

 Pour a mixture of the nuts, seeds, and dried fruit into the ziplock bag. 

Separate the mixture in half down the middle and close the bag releasing as much air as possible.

Place the twist tie in the middle where the gap is and gather the bag. Twist the ends together. 

Twirl the ends of the twist tie around your finger to create a circle shape. 

These will become the butterfly's antennae.

 Butterfly snacks complete!   

 

Add your healthy recipe to these blogs:
carrie on vegan                    veggie nook                    greenthickies

DIY Summer Muesli

Ever buy a bag of muesli and like it all except for one bit?!?
Perhaps its one of the grains or the choice of fruit, or nuts that's in the mix.
Problem solver: make your own!
You can choose your own flavours!

My daughter loves fruit muesli & asked if we could make our own. 
So here's our Summer Muesli that she absolutely LOVES.

You'll need:
2 cups oats
1 cup puffed brown rice
1 cup bran sticks
1 cup rolled rye
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried apple rings
1/2 cup dried mango
1/4 cup dried paw paw
1/4 cup dried pineapple
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pepitas
1 teaspoon mixed spice 

I would of added wheat flakes but when I went shopping for the ingredients I couldn't find any!

If any of the dried fruit is in large pieces, cut it up into bite size pieces.  Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, or a cereal contain & mix well!

DONE! Seriously could if be any easier!
The kids will love getting involved in this! Let them pick which fruit, nuts or seeds they want & of course the shaking part is so much fun ;-)

Delicious with almond milk!

You could make your own dried fruit too if you want to, even if you don't own a dehydrator.
Slice fruit & place on a lined oven tray. Put your oven on a very low temperature (this will vary between ovens as some ovens go lower than others) and leave to dry for 4-6 hours.




This is the start of my new plans to attempt going unprocessed for 10 weeks! Stay tuned for more details coming soon.........

 

Parfait

Parfait reminds me of the movie Shrek!!!

I love the character donkey - he is such a crackup.

 

So, in the words of Donkey: 

"You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, 'Let's get some parfait,' they say, 'Hell no, I don't like no parfait'? Parfaits are delicious!....

Parfait's gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet!"

Well yeah, parfait is pretty delicious!

The literal meaning of parfait is "perfect", although Donkey was referring to it as a tasty dessert of layers, as it is commonly known.

I prefer to have parfait as breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Here's some great options for layers:

 

• whipped coconut cream
• cashew cream
• yogurt
• oats
• crumbled rice cakes
• nuts or seeds
• gingernut biscuits
• fresh fruits - try strawberries, passionfruit
• dried fruits
• soy-tella 
• you could try okara if you really want to experiment
• if you're feeling like a real treat go ahead and add some cacao nibs!!

The options are endless!

Experiment and find what you enjoy.

Here's a few of ours:

Afternoon parfait - strawberry soy-gurt, crumbled rice cakes, soytella, banana, strawberries, currants, sesame seeds, chocolate on top

Breakfast parfait - soy-gurt, oats, chopped prunes, sunflower seeds

 
And just for Donkey - showing the layers ;-)

A week worth of oats

I love having oats for breakfast.
But sometimes having the same thing can become a bit boring. I usually just microwave my oats with some non-dairy milk for a few minutes & then add frozen berries.
So I was on a quest to find a few ways to have my oats that were a bit different from the regular way.

Here's what I came up with!

A week worth of oats

Monday's Oats - Fig & Passionfruit
Cut up 3 dried figs into little pieces, put in a pot with half a cup of oats & a cup of soymilk.
Bring to a boil & simmer for 3-5 minutes until oats are soft. Serve with passionfruit pulp over the top.

                                                        Stirred all together for complete yumminess!


 
Tuesday's Oats - Strawberry Choc-Nut
Put half a cup of oats in a bowl & pour over enough boiling water to just cover the oats. Put them under a cover for approx 5-10 minutes. The oats will absorb the water & soften.
Pour a heaped tablespoon of my nut-seed milo over the top and stir to combine with the oats. Add chopped strawberries for a lovely bowl of tasty oats :-)

Wednesday's Oats - Spiced Mandarin
Soak overnight a bowl with 1/2 cup oats, a cup of pomegranate juice, and a 1/4 teaspoon of each cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice. The oats will absorb the juice overnight. In the morning add a chopped mandarin, a Tablespoon pepitas & a teaspoon sesame seeds.

This is what you'll find in the morning after having soaked overnight

 
Thursday's Oats - Prune & Hazelnut
Stewed prunes remind me so much of my grandmother. She used to have them on her weetbix every morning. This is my own version of how to have stewed prunes for breakfast!
Put half a cup of oats in a bowl & a heaped tablespoon of prune spread. Add just enough boiling water til the oats are covered. Top with a lid of some form & leave overnight for the oats to absorb the water. In the morning grind up a tablespoon of hazelnuts in a coffee grinder & sprinkle over the oats with a half cup of almond milk. So tasty....

The oats will absorb the water overnight

Grind the hazelnuts in the morning

Friday's Oats - Raspberry Oat Cake

This was so good that I thought it deserved a post of it's own! You can find it here.

Stay tuned for some great creations for weekend breakfast cooking with oats.