Seedy Muesli Slice
It is a pretty safe bet to say if we took a peek inside school lunchboxes across Australia quite a large percentage of them would contain a muesli bar. It's the no-brainer snack food and popular with adults and children alike. Pop one in the lunch box or grab one as you head out the door and you a have a quick, relatively healthy energy hit to keep you going until lunch or dinner. But how healthy are they really? Generally speaking your average muesli bar contains ridiculously high amounts of sugar and carbs with low amounts of protein and good fats. The end result is they are not particularly filling or nourishing. In fact a recent article in The Age newspaper stated that "CHILDREN would be better off sitting down to a big fry-up for breakfast rather than some commercially produced muesli bars, so loaded are they with fats and sugars." So it would seem the 'healthy' muesli bar go-to-snack is not so healthy after all.
The other big issue close to my heart is the unnecessary packaging. Those individual wrappers surrounding every muesli bars ultimately find their way to land fill. It is estimated that average lunch-toting child generates 30 kilos of litter a year. That's just one more contributing factor that has resulted in Australia being the second highest producer of waste per person in the Western World! You can do your bit to create a cleaner, greener world by buying food in bulk and making your own staples, like muesli bars and slices, at home. Not only is it a better environmental option, its also a better economical one, Cooking at home is generally cheaper and, of course, helps ensure you create a more nutritious food.
What's that? I can almost hear you all cry in unison, you really want to do the right thing and make your own but you just don't have time. Between juggling work/kids/after school sport/walking the dog/trying to have a life .... just when are you meant to get it done. The great news is that this slice really only takes five minutes to make (I promise). Once you have put it together you just need to whack it in the oven for another ten minutes and you are done. Yes, it really is that easy. Imagine how great you will feel knowing you are sending your kids to school or kinder with a super nutritious, home made slice and no extra packaging!
Ingredients
3 tbs coconut oil or butter (I used coconut oil)
3 tbs rice malt syrup or your choice of sweetener
2 tsp natural vanilla extract
Pinch Celtic/Himalayan sea salt
2 cups mixed seeds - sesame/sunflower/pepitas/chia
3/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celcius. Melt coconut oil or butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in rice malt syrup, vanilla extract, sea salt and stir. Turn off heat and stir in seeds and coconut. Spoon mixture into a square baking tin and press down firmly. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes. Cool in refrigerator and cut into bars.
Recipe from the amaaazing Lee Holmes. Visit her website for more food and recipe inspiration http://www.superchargedfood.com/
The other big issue close to my heart is the unnecessary packaging. Those individual wrappers surrounding every muesli bars ultimately find their way to land fill. It is estimated that average lunch-toting child generates 30 kilos of litter a year. That's just one more contributing factor that has resulted in Australia being the second highest producer of waste per person in the Western World! You can do your bit to create a cleaner, greener world by buying food in bulk and making your own staples, like muesli bars and slices, at home. Not only is it a better environmental option, its also a better economical one, Cooking at home is generally cheaper and, of course, helps ensure you create a more nutritious food.
What's that? I can almost hear you all cry in unison, you really want to do the right thing and make your own but you just don't have time. Between juggling work/kids/after school sport/walking the dog/trying to have a life .... just when are you meant to get it done. The great news is that this slice really only takes five minutes to make (I promise). Once you have put it together you just need to whack it in the oven for another ten minutes and you are done. Yes, it really is that easy. Imagine how great you will feel knowing you are sending your kids to school or kinder with a super nutritious, home made slice and no extra packaging!
Ingredients
3 tbs coconut oil or butter (I used coconut oil)
3 tbs rice malt syrup or your choice of sweetener
2 tsp natural vanilla extract
Pinch Celtic/Himalayan sea salt
2 cups mixed seeds - sesame/sunflower/pepitas/chia
3/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celcius. Melt coconut oil or butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in rice malt syrup, vanilla extract, sea salt and stir. Turn off heat and stir in seeds and coconut. Spoon mixture into a square baking tin and press down firmly. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes. Cool in refrigerator and cut into bars.
Recipe from the amaaazing Lee Holmes. Visit her website for more food and recipe inspiration http://www.superchargedfood.com/
