“I’m hungry!”

Tired of constantly hearing these 2 words? Feeling the pressure to buy cakes at the school gates every week? Children always whining about how hungry they are? Well, these may be the answer for you! These ‘Oaty snack bars’ are healthy and filling too as they contain ‘slow release’ energy from the oats. They are bound to stop those hunger pangs and leave you in peace with no whining children!!

A friend of mine called Sarah, another dietitian (www.sarahdietitian.wordpress.com), showed me this recipe and I have adapted it as my girls are very into coconut at the moment (I used coconut milk) and they love dates.

Ingredients:

150g oats

2 -3 ripe bananas, mashed

A handful of dates, raisins, apricots or dried cranberries (any dried fruit will work – I used dates and raisins)

A handful of pumpkin and sunflower seeds (toasted)

1 Tbs honey (optional)

100ml Coconut milk

Method:

Add all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix together. Spread onto a lined / greased baking tray and bake for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

This recipe is brilliant as there is no butter in it at all! The coconut milk gives it a lovely ‘coconutty’ flavour and the honey is optional – you can add it for a little extra sweetness or leave it out if you think it will be too sweet. I cut mine into squares and my girls loved them! No cakes at the cake sale today!! And no more “I’m hungry!”

Some other ideas for healthy, homemade snacks include:

• Homemade plain popcorn
• Carrot and courgette muffins (recipe coming soon)
• Sweetcorn fritters (recipe coming soon)

Want to know more about suitable snacks for children? How many snacks should toddlers/children have each day? See my next post…coming soon!

 P x