My kids are BIG TIME nibblers- fruits, veggie sticks, hummus, rice crackers, energy bars… you name it and I’m pretty sure we have it around the house, because they constantly ask for these things. Thant said, they eat very well, so at least I can be re assured that they are getting all the good stuff in during mealtimes and we can be less picky with their choice of snacks.
One day, I was in the kitchen with Ariana who was very upset Oliver had eaten the last of the mini oat bars left from her birthday party favours and with the aim of stopping the argument I suggested we made some together. The pantry wasn’t very full at that time, but you can always find porridge oats and dates in there (dates are one of my favorite snacks, filled with a pecan nut and covered in raw chocolate- yum!) so we got to it.
That first time we only used oats, dates, vanilla & coconut oil to make this and this has remained our base recipe but nowadays we add all kind of stuff in there- cacao powder for a chocolate version, pieces of semi dried banana, raisins, chocolate chips, protein powder… just use your imagination for the incredible amount of summer delicious combinations possible.
As the kids loved these oat and date bars a lot, I actually taught a little class at their nursery and made them with the kids there and I tell you what- they ALL loved them! so this simple recipe is a winner!
Here you have the base recipe Ariana and me made that very first time:
2 cups oats (we blended them into a crumbly flour)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup date paste
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
pinch of Himalayan salt (optional)
Place all ingredients except coconut oil in a food processor and operate until well mixed. Add the coconut oil and mix well again. at this stage you can get the kids involved into rolling the mixture into balls or other shapes or you can set it into a container pressing down well. Refrigerate until firm and eat!
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