Healthy Homemade Muesli Bites - A Great School Snack

With my oldest starting school this week I am keen to find lunchbox additions that contain healthy ingredients and that I can make myself to ensure less nasty additives.  While searching the internet for suitable recipes I came across a muesli bar recipe that looked not too bad but it contained not only honey but also sugar and butter.  This was close to what I had in mind but not quite as the amount of sugar and unhealthy saturated fat was not what I wanted for our little girl's school lunch box.

I decided to attempt this recipe but with a couple of changes.  Firstly instead of the 1/2 cup of honey and 1/2 cup of brown sugar in the recipe I added only 3/4 cup of honey.  While honey is still a sugar it has a lower GI rating than sugar and contains many more health benefits and nutritional benefits. (See Health Benefits of Honey for more info).

I also switched the 125gms of butter which is high in unhealthy saturated fats (Long Chain Fatty Acid or LCFA) for 125gms of coconut oil which is high in a healthier saturated fat (Medium Chain Fatty Acid or MCFA.)  The difference basically is that the body metabolizes each of these fat types differently and while LCFA have a negative effect on cholesterol, MCFA has no effect on cholesterol and in fact has been known to lower the risk of heart disease.

There are many more health claims made about coconut oil but the one I found most fascinating was that coconut oil contains lauric acid which when present in the body converts to monolaurin.  Monolaurin is a compound that is highly toxic to viruses, bacteria, funguses and other micro organisms and it is used to treat conditions such as candida albicans, athlete's foot, measles and influenza.  Breast milk is the only other known source of lauric acid which may explain the increased immunity of breastfed infants.  For more info on coconut oil please see Coconut Oil.

OK so back to the recipe which I tried and I must say tastes absolutely amazing and the little Miss agrees.  It has heaps of seeds, oats and wheatgerm so while high in calories they are largely good calories and a little bit will go a long way to providing satiety.  They are nut and dairy free and so suitable for people with nut or dairy allergies or for kids who go to nut free schools or kinders.  Please note though that it is high in sugar due to the honey and so isn't something that should take the place of fresh fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy in the lunchbox but something to add in every now and then in place of a store bought muesli bar.

Keep an eye out for more school lunch ideas this week as I get ready for my very first back to school.  Please subscribe above if you don't want to miss out on any of my delicious but nutritious lunch ideas.

Renae's Super Tasty, Super Healthy Muesli Bites

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup dessicated coconut

1/2 cup wheatgerm

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup sultanas

125gms coconut oil

3/4 cup honey

Method

1. In a frying pan cook oats, coconut, wheatgerm, sesame seeds, sunflower kernels and pumpkin seeds stirring over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes.  Set aside to cool and stir in sultanas.

2. Cook honey and coconut oil over medium heat until coconut oil melts then turn heat to low and simmer for 7 minutes.

3. Line a 20x30cm slice tin in baking paper and add in the oat mixture and then the honey mixture stirring thoroughly.  Really, really thoroughly.  Press down firmly with a fork and leave to cool.

4. Once cooled slice into 32 pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.  This recipe should also freeze but I haven't tried it yet.  I will give it a go tonight and report tomorrow on the results.

Options

Try rice bubbles or puffed millet instead of the rolled oats for a gluten free version.  You could also add in whatever dried fruit you like and swap some nuts for seeds if nut allergies are not an issue for you and your school.

Nutritional Information

Based upon calorieking.com.au

Per 1 piece Makes 32 Pieces

KJs/Cals - 630/151

Total Carbs - 13.3gms

Sugar - 10gms

Fat - 9.8gms

Saturated Fat - 6.2gms (see info on coconut oil fats above)

Cholesterol - 0mg

Protein - 2.8gms

Fibre - 1.6gms

Sodium - 3mg

Calcium - 24mg

My Delicious Berry Tofu Smoothie and why I love silken Tofu

Silken Tofu

Silken Tofu for me is an absolute wonder product.  It is extremely versatile, inexpensive and high in nutrients such as calcium (tofu has 372mg per 100gms compared to skim milk which has 122mg per 100mls), protein (6gms per 100gms with all essential amino acids), it is a good source of thiamin, magnesium, phosphorous and copper, it is low in sodium,  fat and most importantly saturated fat and is suitable for vegans.

Silken Tofu is similar to firm tofu (regular tofu) except that it is processed differently and has a different texture.  Pressing and separating the soy curds and whey is what gives regular tofu it's firmness whereas in making silken tofu the two are not separated which gives a much lighter and creamier tofu.  

This is perfect for me as I like to use silken tofu to increase the nutritional content of many old favorites such as potato and leek soup, pumpkin soup and pesto sauce.  Like regular tofu, silken tofu takes on the flavour of what you are cooking it with but the beauty of silken tofu is that it blends into whatever you are making and the only difference is that it will slightly thicken and make creamy whatever it is you are cooking.

I wanted to share with you a recipe I adore.  I'm not someone who is huge on eating highly processed foods and so when I need to get some protein in quickly and I don't have time to cook eggs or just to add a bit of additional protein and nutrients to a smoothie I whip this up as a breakfast or after workout snack.

Note: A Tofu smoothie does not have the equivalent protein of a protein powder so if you are looking for a large amount of protein then a protein powder (whey protein isolate is great) would be a better source.

Berry Tofu Smoothie

Serves 2

Ingredients 

125gms Silken Tofu

2 handfuls of frozen berries

500mls(ish) of milk or soy milk

2 drops vanilla essence

1 pinch of cinnamon

Method

Throw all ingredients into the blender and process until smooth.  Continue to add more milk to achieve the right consistency and then enjoy.

Optional Extras

Banana (great for extra carbs), LSA powder, chia seeds, cocoa powder, coconut oil, flaxseed oil.