These days I find myself stocking up on a lot of snacks for my ever hungry growing kids. The costs add up. Not only that but it is hard to find good quality nutritious snacks that are also budget friendly.
So this weekend I decided to make some homemade oat bars.
This concept is nothing new…there are plenty of recipes out there that uses some combination of dried fruit, nuts, sweetener, liquid, oats or nut flour to make some truly delicious bars.
But I was on a quest to use minimum number of ingredients with natural sweetening. So I gave the following combination a try.
1. Walnuts
First I took 2 cups of walnut and processed it to get it close to the buttery texture.
2. Dates
Next I added in 1 tightly packed cup of pitted dates (about 17-18 dates) and processed it with the walnuts. I was happy with the resulting paste like texture.
3. Oats
Finally I added in about 2 cups of oats. I used processed Old Fashioned oats but you can use any kind you have.
You want to keep processing until you get a consistent texture that will hold its shape when pressed together.
Now I was ready to start making the bars. But I did a quick taste test. I took 2 mini samples to each of the kids and had them try it. They loved it.
Mission successful!
Making the Bars
Now I just had to prep them into bars. I lined a loaf pan and pressed in my oat mixture pretty well. I used a flexible spatula to help press down and flatten as much as I could.
Finally I set the pan in the fridge to harden a bit. And few hours later, I was able to take it out and cut them into bars.
The verdict: the kids loved it and it is working as a great snack.
Jubila 365 