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.

Coconut Crunch Granola

I've made a bunch of granola recipes. There's Autumn Spice Granola with the warmth of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Low-Fat Granola when you're on a health kick and No-Stir Granola when you're feeling lazy. Tropical Almond Granola is perfect when you're ready for a Hawaiian vacation but you're firmly rooted on the mainland.

But this Coconut Crunch Granola, you guys? This one is my new fav.

It's extra rich with layers of coconut flavor from unsweetened coconut and coconut oil. And somehow the vanilla extract makes everything taste more coconut-y. Oats, almonds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and ground flax keep you full until lunchtime. And maple syrup lends a subtle sweetness that will make even your pickiest eaters happy.

Next time you're looking to mix up your breakfast routine or add a new snack to the mix, give Coconut Crunch Granola a try!

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Coconut Crunch Granola

5 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup (I'm talking pure maple syrup here, not pancake syrup.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl combine oats, coconut, almonds, chia seeds, flax, and hemp seeds. In a separate small bowl combine coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until everything is evenly coated.

Pour the granola onto two very large rimmed baking sheets. (Two half sheet pans would work well.) Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring thoroughly a couple times, until granola is fragrant and toasted to a golden brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Granola keeps well in a sealed container for a couple weeks.

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.

Turkey Feta Spinach Burgers with Pepperoncini Sauce

These are my all-time favorite burgers because of the way the briny feta cheese, earthy spinach and mellow onions combine with the zing from the sauce. It's a pleasure party for the palate.

If you're looking for a different take on July 4 fare, give these a try.

Mixing the feta and spinach with the turkey keeps the burgers super moist and flavorful. The creamy and spicy pepperoncini sauce delivers a refreshingly cool topper for this casual dinner.

I used to only cook these on the stovetop with my grill pan, but I've been toying with variations to keep the burgers from falling apart on my outdoor grill. Thanks to some collaboration with my nutritionist sister-in-law Karen S., this recipe ensures success with either cooking method!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Turkey Feta Spinach Burgers with Pepperoncini Sauce
Inspired by chef Sara Moulton

For the burgers
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped white or yellow onion
5 oz baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
3 ounces feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 egg
1/4 cup or more of old fashioned oats, optional

For the sauce:
1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup low fat mayo
2 tablespoons seeded and chopped pepperoncini peppers (from a jar)
1 tablespoon pepperoncini liquid from the jar
1 or 2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until it begins to brown, about 5 or 6 minutes.  Add spinach and stir until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a colander and let spinach and onion drain off excess liquid.

As spinach cools, you can mix up the creamy pepperoncini burger topper. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the sauce. Stir well and set aside.

Now you are ready to form your burgers. Mix together ground turkey, egg, spinach and onion, feta cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. If mixture seems too moist and loose, add oats to help add form. Shape into patties. You'll get four large or six to eight slider-sized burgers. Use whatever size makes sense for your family.

Spray burgers with cooking spray and grill over medium heat for about six minutes on each side.

If using buns, spread some pepperoncini sauce on the bottom buns and add the burgers. Spoon more  sauce over the burgers and top with bun. Or go bun-less and just use the sauce.

Sour Dough Coffee Cake

When a friend gave me a bag of Amish Friendship Bread starter earlier this year, I had no choice but to experiment.

To me, that's really what these bags of goo are all about. If you have kids (especially boys!) they will love squeezing and 'burping' the bags of starter as the yeast ferments with the milk, flour and sugar. And you can teach them a little science along the way. In fact, I've caught Sam several times sneaking into the dining room to squeeze the starter bags.

My sour dough starter is still going strong since I received it in March. And I've learned quite a bit, as Erin did when she received some starter a few years back.

If you haven't been gifted a bag, I encourage you to make your own. The recipe is here. When you (and your friends) get tired of using the starter, I'm happy to report that the freezing method does work. I made this coffee cake with a bag of starter slush that I thawed and re-started after it spent about two months in cold storage. Those little yeast molecules picked up fermenting right where they left off.

Once you make the traditional Amish Friendship Bread, it's easy to use starter for other things, including cakes, brownies, cookies, pancakes, biscuits and pie crust. If you need ideas be sure to visit the online bible of friendship bread recipes at the Friendship Bread Kitchen.

I'm not a huge fan of the instant pudding mix and loads of sugar that many starter recipes use. Luckily for me, when Robin T.  delivered my first starter bag, she included pudding-free recipes developed by her co-worker Claudia T. This coffee cake recipe is a spin off. And it is the best coffee cake. Ever. The day after my recipe tinkering I had to give away batches of cake to my neighbors because we could not stop eating it.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Sour Dough Coffee Cake

For the cake batter
2 cups of sour dough starter
1 1/2 cups of flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the topping
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or ginger, or 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (experiment!)
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray or grease with butter or shortening.

Using a plastic or wooden bowl and spoon, mix together all ingredients for the cake batter. (Do not use metal. It reacts with the yeast in the starter and gives it a funny taste.) Pour mixture into pan and spread out evenly.

Place all topping ingredients in a second bowl. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, incorporate butter into other ingredients until crumbs begin to form. Sprinkle topping generously over cake batter. You might have some left over. (You can freeze the extra topping and use it when you make this coffee cake again — because there will be a next time.)

Place pan in oven and bake for 30 minutes to 40 minutes, until the top is browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool. Then cut yourself a piece and indulge. And keep your starter going so that you can make this again.

Here's Max holding one of our starter bags.