Apple & Berry Crumbly Oat Bars

Recipe

These flapjacks are gluten-free, packed with protein, healthy fats and fibre, and contain no refined sugar.

Ingredients:

140g Mixed Berries (fresh or frozen)

1 Large banana

1 Apple (red or green), cored and cut into 1 cm cubes, skin on or off

200g Oats

50g *Cooked Quinoa

30g Pumpkin or Sunflower Seeds

30g Chopped Almonds, Cashew or Nut Butter (optional, avoid if for school pack lunch)

10g Ground Flaxseeds

3tbsp Maple Syrup

130g Unsalted Butter or Coconut oil

2 Eggs

1tsp Cinnamon

 1 scoop, Protein powder (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180oC /160oC fan, line a 18x25cm or 20x20 baking tin with baking paper.

Melt the butter in a pan or microwave, remove from heat, add mashed banana and maple syrup to the pan.

You may want to roughly chop seeds and nuts in a blender, optional.

Blitz half the oats in a blender.

In a separate bowl mix the oats, protein powder, cinnamon, chopped apple, nuts and seeds, stir in the banana and maple mix, and then add the eggs.

Gently fold in the egg and mixed berries.

Spoon the mix into the tin, making sure its evenly spread. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool before slicing into rectangles.

It can be stored in an airtight container for 3 - 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months.

*Note, I always cook a big batch of Quinoa and freeze to use in cooking, following instructions on the pack, or you can buy ready-cooked and freeze what you dont use.

Health benefits

Watching my son play football at the weekend I had a collection of the usual processed snacks in my bag, when a friend asked my advice on healthy snack alternatives, you should have seen the guilty look!.  It made me think about the snacks I give the children in their lunchboxes, after school and in-between sports at weekends. I am busy and don’t always have time to make something.

There are many reasons I am trying to reduce processed snacks for my family, the main one being that they contain very few important nutrients for their growth and development compared to homemade food. But it is not an easy challenge.

Sugary processed snacks never fill your kids up, they are left wanting more. They are rapidly digested and absorbed and cause a rapid spike in blood glucose, then a crash, leaving them wanting more sugar and still hungry.

Our bodies use glucose as the main fuel source, so our brains have evolved to like sweet foods. Eating sugar activates the dopamine system, our feel-good chemical messenger, when released we then want more sugar. Eating sugary snacks frequently, our brain adapts so we need more sugar to experience the same rewarding feeling. Thefore the more sugar our children eat, the more they want it. 

It is important their snacks are full of protein, healthy fats and fibre which keep them fuller for longer, giving them energy for their busy, active day.

Quinoa, Eggs, Nuts & Seeds are packed full of protein which helps to control blood sugar levels by slowing down digestion, increasing fullness, and reducing post-meal blood sugar spikes by reducing the rate at which cells absorb sugar. This stops your child craving more sugar not long after they finished eating. 

Protein is one of the most important macronutrients to support your child’s growth and development. Protein is essential for skin, hair, nails, bones, cartilage and muscles.

Nuts and seeds are also packed with healthy fats which help to regulate your appetite, and make you feel full. They do not cause an insulin release, so they keep your blood sugar much more stable

Oats, quinoa, nuts, seeds, mixed berries and bananas are a good source of fibre, which takes longer to digest, making you feel full for longer, reducing hunger and can help lower glucose levels and curb sugar cravings.

When trying to replace sugary snacks with a homemade healthier option you have to meet the children halfway, or they won’t eat it. My daughter absolutely loved these oat bars and has eaten them every day this week in her lunchbox and cut back on her biscuits. The big test is this weekend’s netball and football matches, will it keep them full so they keep away from the crisps and biscuits?

Gestational Diabetes Friendly

Because there is no dried fruit & honey this snack is not as sweet as my Date & Apricot I posted in social media. It contains apples and mixed berries, is lower in sugar and high in fibre. It is therefore Gestational Diabetes friendly. Even though it contains oats, it is packed full of fats and protein.  

Perfect Weaning Snack

There is no honey in this recipe so it is suitable for babies under 12 months and is a great alternative to the toddler oat bars sold in the supermarket. Some brands’ toddler bars have a similar amount of sugar as two of my children’s favorite biscuits, because of the apple concentrate added.