Delicious And Nutritious Back To School Snack!

There is so much hot air being blown about concerning ‘advice’ for parents when it comes to kids’ snacks. The latest seems to be that each snack should contain no more than 100 calories – as we all know, there are good and bad calories. A peanut butter-based sugar-free bar is going to have many more calories than a Special K cereal bar… yet with the latter packed with sugar and palm oil, it’s not rocket science to figure out which is more wholesome.

The key is getting a mix of fruit and complex carbs which are slow burners in terms of digestion. This recipe is a simple, healthy, entirely unprocessed flapjack - it’s not just a great alternative to packaged snacks, it’s also a fun way to get kids into cooking and help them understand the benefits of making homemade instead of processed snacks.

This recipe also provides an opportunity for you to engage your children in the sugar debate and show them how natural fruit sugars can taste just as great while being less harmful. Using spices such as cinnamon actually helps regulate blood sugar.

And they are also extremely versatile – if you don’t have banana, use apple sauce. If you don’t have raisins, use chopped apricots or dates. It’s a great way to experiment with what you have in your store cupboard.

Of course, you don’t need to have kids to make these delicious flapjacks. In fact, you’ll probably be able to whip up a batch by yourself in less than ten minutes once you’ve run through the recipe a few times. And the best part… you won’t have to share! 😉

Healthy Banana Flapjacks

• Ingredients (Makes 12 Servings)
• 2½ cups (around 225g) jumbo oats
• 2 very ripe bananas
• 1 apple
• ½ cup (around 80g) mixed seeds
• ½ cup (around 75g) raisins and dried apricots
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 50g butter or ½ cup (around 125ml/100g) coconut oil
• 3tbsp runny honey

Method

1. Line a small baking tray with baking paper and turn on the oven to 180°C/gas 4.
2. Measure the oats, seeds and raisins and place in a bowl. Then chop up the apricots and add them to the oat mix.
3. In another bowl, mash the two bananas with a fork. Then coarsely grate the apple into the bananas and add the cinnamon.
4. Next, take a saucepan and place it on a low heat. Add the honey and butter or oil. Once the butter has melted, add the banana/apple mix and the oats/dried fruit mix.
5. Stir well until the honey and butter or oil has completely covered the fruit and oats and it’s all well mixed.
6. Pour this mixture into the baking tray and flatten with the back of a spoon or spatula so that the flapjacks will be the same height all over.
7. Place in the oven and bake for around 30 minutes, until the top starts to go golden brown.
8. Wait until it has completely cooled, then slice and enjoy!

This recipe is courtesy of Amelia Stewart from CookFirst. For more recipes, please visit www.cookfirst.co.uk