It’s Snack Time
“What’s for snack?” is one of the first questions my kids ask me after school. Sometimes I have a plan; often not.
Enter: Fruit and Nut Breakfast Bars. Not just for breakfast, they can be used to supplement any lunch, brought along for car snacks, or served after school on a pretty plate. I love to make and serve these to my kids on a weekly basis (with their help making them, of course!).
How to Make Breakfast Bars
It’s as simple as can be, especially if you have a food processor. Just put all the ingredients into the food processor, whiz it up, and press into a parchment lined pan. Bake for 25 minutes or so, let cool, and cut into bars. You can wrap them individually or store them in an air tight container. These only last two days in our household, but you can make a double batch and freeze some.
The ingredients are wholesome and filling: sprouted oats, nuts and nut butter, dried fruit, honey, and coconut oil. Feel free to get creative with the spices: instead of cinnamon, try pumpkin spice or cardamom. Instead of vanilla extract, try almond or hazelnut extract. I used sunflower seed butter; you can also try peanut, almond, or even coconut butter for a twist. For the dried fruit, I recommend keeping the dates in there since they act like a “glue” to bind the bars together. But feel free to swap out the raisins for dried cranberries, apricots, or prunes.
What to Serve with Breakfast Bars
These bars are filling enough to serve alone, but for especially active kids, you can pair them with a glass of raw milk, a hard boiled egg, or a beef stick.
The bars are also great to cut smaller and slip into lunch boxes for a treat. If having them for breakfast, you can have them with some bacon or sausage on the go.
Other Favorite Snacks
Don’t forget about some of these other favorites!
Let me know in the comments what some of your favorite homemade snacks are. As always, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time!
Fruit and Nut Breakfast Bars
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Glass 8×8 baking pan
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates pitted and chopped (about 10 dates)
- 1 1/4 cup sprouted oats
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
- 1/4 cup nut butter peanut, almond, or sunflower butter are good options
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- zest of 1 small orange
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place all ingredients in food processor. Pulse to combine until dough looks a bit like oatmeal cookie dough.
- Place parchment paper in baking pan. Tip dough out of food processor into prepared pan. Smooth the top, pressing into the corners of the pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and slightly darkened at the edges. Let cool completely. Cut into 8 bars. If the bars crumble, place in fridge for an hour or so to firm up.
