Kids are back to school this week and, as promised, here is the sweet segment of our lunch box ideas series. Featuring four easy-to-make recipes, such as home-made Granola Bars, the much loved Banana Cake, Coco-Pop Bars and delicious Bliss Balls, we hope there is something in there for everyone.
No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars
No-bake, healthy Fruit & Nut Granola Bars made with just 6 ingredients. Chewy, so simple to make, and just as delicious as they are nutritious.
Prep Time: 10 mins / Recipe Source: Eat Well 101 www.eatwell101.com
Ingredients:
1 cup packed dried dates, pitted
¼ cup honey
1 ½ cups rolled oats
½ cup chopped almonds
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions:
Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the sides for easy removal. Set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, process dates and honey until they form a paste.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.
Add date mixture to oat mixture and mix, using your hands or a spoon, until combined. Scoop mixture into the prepared pan and firmly press into an even layer.
Chill in freezer for about 20 minutes until firm. Remove from freezer and lift granola mixture out of pan using overhang on sides. Cut into bars and serve.
Soft and moist Banana Cake
Everybody loves the good old, classic Banana Cake. The trick is to use really ripe bananas as their sugar content increases as they ripen, making them sweeter, and of course they are softer and easier to mash so they break down more easily in the cake batter.
Makes: 1 x 8"x3.5x3" tin AND 1 x 9"x4"x3" tin
Ingredients:
250g salted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar (reduce the sugar depending on how ripe the bananas are), normally 180g to 200g
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
2 cups plain flour (220g sift together with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp baking powder)
Method:
Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Add in eggs, vanilla essence and milk and mix well.
Add mashed banana into the mixture and mix well.
Finally add in sifted flour and mix well and pour into a cake tin.
Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg C for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If the top layer turns brown after 15 minutes, cover it with a piece of aluminium foil.
Cool cakes in the pan then remove. Use a sharp knife to slice and serve
Coco-Pop Bars
Coco-Pop Bars that taste just as good as the real thing! Made with raw cacao, coconut and chia seeds - perfect for a sweet lunchbox treat.
Prep Time: 10 min / Servings: 12 / Recipe Source: Bake Play Smile www.bakeplaysmile.com
Ingredients:
4 cups (120g) rice bubbles or puffed rice
1/4 cup (40g) chia seeds
2 cups (200g) desiccated coconut
1/4 cup (25g) raw cacao powder
3/4 cup (255g) honey or 1 cup rice malt syrup
1/2 cup (110g) coconut oil, melted
Instructions:
Place the rice bubbles, chia seeds, coconut and cacao powder into a large bowl.
Pour over the honey and melted coconut oil and mix together really well.
Place the mixture into a lined 20cm square cake tin and press down firmly (you can use a round glass and roll it over the mixture to really press it down extra hard).
Place the tin into the fridge and leave for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Take out of the fridge and cut into bars.
Store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge.
Recipe Notes:
Please note that using honey will keep the bars together more firmly than rice malt syrup.
To ensure that the bars don't crumble when being sliced, make sure the mixture is pressed very firmly into the tin and allow to set for 2-3 hours in the fridge.
Use a cake tin of the same size to help press the mixture down firmly. It's important that the mixture is pressed down very firmly so that it doesn't crumble when sliced.
Remove the slice from the fridge and cut immediately (if you allow it to come to room temperature, it will crumble on slicing).
Cut the coco-pop bars with a very sharp knife while the slice is still in the tin.
Place the slice pieces back into the fridge as soon as you've cut them (to keep them intact).
Salted Caramel Bliss Balls
A Family Pantry favourite! These are super easy to make, only use five ingredients, turn out super delicious every time and most importantly, the kids love them!
Prep time: 20 minutes / Makes 12 bliss balls
Recipe source: The Healthy Mummy - www.healthymummy.com
Ingredients:
1 cup dried, pitted dates
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
good pinch salt
Instructions:
Soak the dates in boiling water for 15 minutes.
Drain the dates, saving two teaspoons of the soaking liquid to add to the mixture.
Blitz dates until broken down.
Add remaining ingredients including the reserved soaking liquid and blitz until well combined.
Roll into 12 balls (mixture will be slightly sticky at this stage).
Pop in the freezer to set then eat and enjoy!
Keep stored in the freezer.