We’ve never been big snackers at our house, but the sassy little two-year-old that currently lives with us wants to eat all of the things, all of the time. This has turned my minimal snack policy upside-down because 1) she seems to be genuinely hungry – she eats her snack and then still eats a huge meal a few hours later and because 2) she, like her mother, goes from happy-go-lucky lady to hangry terror in about four minutes flat. During those moments, she could be the poster child for the “terrible twos” with her full-on meltdowns, yelling “I WANT SNACK!”
Of course, we can’t offer her a snack and not give one to her big brother too. Our go-to snacks are fruits and nuts, but I’ve been making some things ahead of time that I can just keep in the pantry that require no prep on the day-of and that I can throw in my purse on the way out the door. I love Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain
cookbook, so I was looking there a few weeks ago and came across these granola bars that seemed more like a cookie than a healthy snack. But I figured they still have far less sugar than the store-bought varieties, and I could at least eliminate the sugar from the original recipe. They come together really quickly, but taste more sophisticated than your typical granola bar, which is perhaps why Grant keeps stealing them to go with his coffee every morning.
If you have a hangry toddler like us, check out this list of healthy snack ideas, and leave your suggestions in the comments. Pretty please!
no refined sugar granola bars
Ingredients
Dry mix
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, plus extra to butter the pan
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup flaxseed meal
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raisins
Wet mix
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tbsp unsulphured molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325° F.
- Lay out some parchment paper over a 9x9-inch glass or metal baking dish. Butter the parchment paper.
- Melt the butter in a large pot (I used a Dutch oven), and then add the oats. Adjust the heat to medium and stir frequently until the oats are toasted (about 5-6 minutes on my stove). They should be a a light brown shade and your kitchen should smell pleasantly of oats.
- Pour the toasted oats in a large bowl. Add the flaxseed meal, cinnamon, and raisans to the oats and stir to combine.
- Using the pot that you toasted the oats in, add the honey, molasses, vanilla, and salt into the pot and bring to a low boil for about five minutes.
- Pour the syrup over the oat mixture. You'll need to stir the oats thoroughly to ensure they are covered in the syrup mixture.
- Using a spatula, scrape the oat mixture into the prepared pan. I put a little butter on my hands to smash the oat mixture into the pan.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until the outer edges begin to brown just a bit.
- Remove from the over and let cool. Cut into 3-inch pieces.
- Put in an air tight container. Ours stay for about a week and are still delicious (we've never made it much longer than a week with them sitting in the pantry).
Notes
3.1
https://www.sarabytheseason.com/2014/10/06/no-refined-sugar-granola-bars/
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