Granola Bites

Quinn and I decided to make some granola bites this morning. I got the recipe out of the latest issue of Today's Parent magazine.

I think it's obvious that I have a pretty good relationship with food, and I really hope to pass that along to Quinn. One of the ways I can get him to appreciate food is to let him have a part in making it.



1 egg
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tblsp vegetable oil
1 cup large flake oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup dried blueberries
2 1/2 tblsp sesame seeds
pinch cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12 muffin tin with oil (I have one of those mister things).

In a large bowl, whisk egg, maple syrup and oil. Add oats, seeds, blueberries and cinnamon. We tasted everything (but the egg) as it was going into the bowl.

Divide evenly amongst the 12 wells. It was about a heaping tablespoon per well. Press mixture into tin with the back of the spoon.

Bake in oven for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them. Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and gently (using the spoon if needed) remove them and place them on a plate.

If you take them out too soon, they will fall apart. If you wait too long, they might stick.

White Trash

Some call it Puppy Chow, some call it Christmas Crack...I call it "addictive". It's easy to make, and I guarantee that if you put this out, people are going to keep going back to it.

Unless they are allergic to nuts, in which case, I'd maybe avoid it. That might end badly.

If you are a purist, you'll just use cereal...and that will make people plenty happy. I like a little variety.



What you need...

1 box of Chex (or, if you're in Canada, Crispix)
1 cup thin pretzel sticks, snapped in half
1 cup holiday coloured M & M's
(you can really put anything you like in here...peanuts, almonds, popcorn, whatever...just make sure you have enough coating. It's probably against the law somewhere to skimp on the coating.)

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

1 big ziplock bag
1 cup icing sugar (confectioner's sugar, powdered sugar, whatever you call it)

In a very large bowl (I usually use 2, so I have room to mix), toss together your snack ingredients.

Lay parchment paper on 2 baking sheets and have them ready.

In a microwave safe bowl, toss in butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter. Nuke on high until melted, stirring often (burnt chocolate is no one's friend). Stir in vanilla quickly, and pour into bowl with all the cereal goodness in it. Mix to coat as best you can, maybe get your hands into it? Whatever works.

Lay out on parchment lined baking sheets to set up 20 minutes or so.

I usually shake the White Trash in 3 batches. Put some powdered sugar at the bottom of the ginormous ziploc bag, scoop some chocolate covered stuff in the bag, top with some more powdered sugar, zip up the bag (securely - it sucks when you *think* it's closed but it's not...ask me how I know) and shake. Feel free to dig into those chunks of chocolate to break them up a bit. Add more sugar if needed.

Enjoy!

Yummy Cake

Quinn eats Oatmeal Bear Paw cookies. They are these soft cake like cookies, and they are oh so convenient, but there are things in them that I prefer not to feed him - modified palm oils, sorbitol, artificial flavours...

I'm not saying that I'm going to totally stop buying them. They do serve their purpose as an occasional convenience food, but there has to be something better for him!

Then arrives my new Canadian Family magazine (October 2010). There was a recipe under the article "Smart Foods" for Flaxen Oaty Cranerry Walnut Bars.

Comparing the Nutritional Values, there really wasn't much difference between the Bear Paws and the Bars With the Really Long Name...but the ingredients were MUCH better. I made a couple of adjustments to the recipe and made them.

Quinn called them "Yummy Cake", which is a heck of a lot easier to remember than Flaxen Oaty Cranerry Walnut Bars. I will definitely make these again. I might try some different fruit and nut combinations next time. They are tasty, and healthy, and fulfilling. Give them a try!

Yummy Cake



2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 flax seeds
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup demerara sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Grease 9x9 square pan (these could probably make great cookie cakes or mini muffins...adjust the baking time as necessary if you change it up) and preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, oats, cranberries, nuts, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Cream butter and sugar in a seperate bowl, and add eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into pan and bake about 30 minutes (or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean).

Cool in pan and cut into bars.

Really, any fruit/nut combo would work. Bits of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, apple...mash in a banana (maybe you'd need to adjust the milk and butter for that?) The cake part is a great base for anything you like to put into your baking. Grate in some zucchini! Heck, the possibilities are endless. Do it up!