These are SO GOOD!!! I couldn't believe how good, seriously. Totally easy to make, relatively cheap, and will provide lots of snacks, healthy desserts, and breakfasts on-the-go for you non-morning types. They're addictive, but that's okay - they're full of fiber, protein, and Omega-3 (from the flax, which you can find on the baking aisle of your supermarket). Best of all, all natural and no preservatives - and a fraction of what you would pay in the store for the same thing, which is also loaded with extra sugar, fat, preservatives, and substances you can barely pronounce. Make them on a weekend and you have them for the upcoming week. It really is as simple as mixing everything and letting it bake on its own!
Breakfast BarsA variation on a recipe by Nigella Lawson,whom I think is genius.
- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk, warmed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (almond extract would be good here also)
- 2 1/2 cups rolled/old fashioned oats (not instant)
- 1 cup shredded coconut (toasted coconut is optional)
- 1 cup dried cranberries, golden raisins, chopped dates, or a combination of dried fruits (I like the cranberries)
- 1 cup mixed seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, flax)
- 1 cup unsalted cashews, sliced almonds, peanuts or any combination of nuts you prefer (almonds for me)
- 1/4 cup milled flax seeds and/or 1/4 cup wheat germ
- Warm the condensed milk in a small saucepan, add the vanilla and mix well.
- Combine all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well before combining with the milk.
- Add the milk, stirring well to incorporate it evenly in the mixture - it will become very clumpy and bind together.
- Spray a 9" X 13" pan with nonstick cooking spray. Press the mixture evenly into the pan, smoothing out the top. I recommend putting some of the spray on your hands as well to keep the mixture from sticking to your fingers.
- Bake at 250 for 1 hour, allow to cool for 15 minutes and then cut 4 slices lengthwise and 4 slices crosswise to yield 16 bars.
Just cuddling.. thats it.. GRIN..
By the same token, these bars are high in calories, mostly from the (albeit healthier) fats contained in coconut, nuts and seeds.
They also contain a significant amount of sugar from the sweetened condensed milk and the dried fruit.
The fruit, oatmeal and milk also represent the type of carbs that easily and rapidly convert to glucose in the blood. This in turn raises one's insulin level, which causes glucose to be converted to triglycerides for storage in fat cells.
If one tinkered with the recipe to get rid of the grains and sugars, the resulting low carb bars wouldn't produce the same fat storage outcome. :)
Maybe filling her up on stuff like this will help cut down my meat budget. Organic is expensive!