No Sugar Granola Bars

I've mentioned a time or twenty that my son is a picky eater. Selective, they say in some circles. One food that he is usually willing to eat is granola bars. His absolute favorite are iced oatmeal cookie-flavored Clif Zbars, but when I get my act together (wait...that never actually happens), we love to make homemade granola bars together.

Some of our favorites are these No Bake Granola Bars. They are crazy good, but I wanted to come up with a version that had less sugar. I was having a hard time getting my new bars to stick together, so I turned to you, friends, for help! Thanks to your comments and suggestions on Facebook, we came up with a winning recipe.

Dates add sweetness, stickiness, and a hearty helping of fiber. Peanut butter contributes protein and more holding power so these bars don't crumble. Oatmeal means you'll be full all the way to lunch time. Ground flaxseed boosts the healthy omega-3 fatty acids. I did include mini chocolate chips on top, but this is an optional ingredient. There's no way my kid will touch a granola bar without chocolate chips, so it's a non-negotiable in my house. With mostly healthy ingredients, a little bit of chocolate can't hurt, right?

One thing I do know: when it comes to granola bars, crowd sourcing for the win!

Let's get cooking!
Erin

No Sugar Granola Bars

25 pitted dates
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Pulse all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor until combined. Press evenly into a foil-lined 8" square pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and press them into the bars. Refrigerate 1 hour before removing the foil and slicing into bars. Store granola bars in the refrigerator.

Edible Beard Man

A recent Facebook post from my friend Andy showed his daughter stirring scrambled eggs on the stove. It made me think I should start teaching my boys how to do more in the kitchen than use the microwave, but I'm still worried about them burning the house down — or burning themselves!

My youngest, Sam, does love to cook, though. Amy gifted my boys Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes and it's perfect for cooking with kids. Sam has bookmarked quite a few recipes inspired by the characters in Dahl's books.

We took a stab at making Mr. Twit's Beard Food and it was pretty fun — and definitely the kind of thing many boys would enjoy eating. Mr. Twit's most noticeable trait is his very messy beard, which contains leftovers from his meals. Yuck. But who doesn't like playing with their food?

You can change things up anyway you like with this general recipe. Since mashed potatoes form the base, you can let your child craft an edible version or his or her favorite character. I could see my niece Layne forming Elsa's long braid instead of a mashed potato beard, for example.

So, if you're faced with a rainy day or a long afternoon, get into the kitchen with your kiddos and see what they create.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Edible Beard Man
Inspired by Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes cookbook

3 large potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
(Note: Feel free to use instant mashed potatoes instead. Follow package directions.)
3-4 cocktail franks
4 mushrooms
1 hard boiled egg
1 black olive or 2 raisins
1 slice bread
Small bag potato sticks or "fries" (I mean the kind from the potato chip aisle, but you could also use cooked french fries.)
Small bag pretzel sticks
Handful of cornflakes
1/2 shredded cheese
Optional: 1/4 cup peas or carrots, 1/4 baked beans, ketchup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. Place in medium pot and cover with water. Boil until potatoes are soft. Drain potatoes and return them to the pot. Add butter and milk and mash until everything is combined. Set aside and let cool for a few minutes.

Cover a baking sheet with foil.

Peel the egg and cut it in half.

Using about 1/3 of the mashed potatoes, form a base for the face on the baking sheet. It should resemble the outline of a football. Then use the rest of the mashed potatoes to form a beard that tapers at the end. You can make your beard rounded or pointy.

Position the egg halves within the opening of the face to form the eyes. You can flip the rounded yolk halves and place them upside down on the egg whites to make building eyes. Add a raisin or piece of black olive for the center of the eye.

Separate a mushroom stem from its cap and place between the egg eyes. Use two mushroom caps to make nostrils at the bottom of the mushroom stem.

Use the two remaining mushroom caps to make the ears.

Slice the crust off the bread and place it above the eggs to make eyebrows.

Slice the franks lengthwise but not all the way through. Place them on the mashed potatoes to form a mouth. Using the remaining bread, make teeth by pinching small pieces of bread together and rolling them into a pointy shape. Put the bread teeth between the sliced franks so they stick out at odd angles.

Next, make the hair. Stick the potato sticks or fries into the mashed potatoes above the eyes and ears.

Then, fill in the beard! Use potato sticks, pretzel sticks, cornflakes and whatever else your child likes to eat to make a messy-looking beard. Squirts of ketchup or dollops of baked beans look great.

Sprinkle the beard with cheese. Warm in oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Then watch as your child devours his or her creation.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

My son is four now (Four!! Insert all the crying emojis.), and he goes to preschool three mornings a week. He is a bit of a picky eater, and getting him to eat enough for breakfast that his little belly stays full until snack time is my morning mission.

We've been making his favorite No-Bake Granola Bars, but it was time to mix things up. Danny thought muffins would be tasty, but how to make a muffin that would be hearty enough to keep stick to his ribs? Enter superstar ingredient (and one of my kids' favorites): oatmeal.

These Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins are healthy, delicious, and filling. They taste like a cross between Brown Sugar Oatmeal Coffee Cake and Baked Oatmeal. The sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top might even convince your kids that they are breakfast cupcakes. Just sayin'.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins
Makes 10 muffins

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup milk
1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

In a medium bowl, combine oats and milk. Set aside to soak for one hour.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 10 cups of your muffin tin and set aside.

Stir applesauce, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla into the milk-soaked oats. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.

Evenly divide batter between 10 cups of your muffin tin. Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over batter. (I didn't use all of the cinnamon sugar. Use any leftover for cinnamon crisps! Mmmm.)

Bake for 16-20 minutes, until muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Banana Breakfast Cookies

Danny and I made No-Bake Granola Bars last week. We sat at the kitchen table, shoveling them down like there was no tomorrow (Danny ate four in one sitting. FOUR.), and Elaine looked on glumly as she pushed her Cheerios around her tray. Poor little Elaine wanted a granola bar, too. Lame-o Cheerios ain't gonna cut it when everyone else is eating something as wonderful as a No-Bake Granola Bar. But the bars have honey in them. And since Elaine isn't one year old yet, honey is off limits.

So I set out on a mission to find a tasty and healthy treat that both my kids could enjoy. I've pinned a million recipes for breakfast cookies, and I had a pile of overripe bananas to use up. Inspiration struck.

Elaine went bananas (no pun intended) over these Breakfast Cookies. She ate two for snack and two more for breakfast the next day! Mission accomplished.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Banana Breakfast Cookies
Adapted from With Salt and Wit
Makes 12 cookies

3 small, very ripe bananas
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups oats*
3 tablespoons ground flax
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional, but encouraged!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mash bananas as thoroughly as possible. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until everything is evenly incorporated. Stir in oats, flax, chia seeds, and chocolate chips.

Form dough into 12 balls (they'll be slightly bigger than golf balls) and place on prepared baking sheet. Use the bottom of a greased glass to gently press each ball into a cookie shape. Bake for about 13 minutes, until cookies are set, but soft to the touch in the center. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in the fridge.

*I used old fashioned oats because my son is a fan of the hearty oat texture. If your family doesn't like the texture of old fashioned oats, try quick cooking oats.