Maple Cranberry Cereal Bars - Day 1

The first morning of My Clean Cuisine started as it usually does - around 6:30. The problem was that this was a Saturday proceeded by a Friday with one delicious glass of Spanish wine too many. I would normally set my 3-year-old early riser up on the couch, turn on a Disney DVD and stick a Special K Cereal Bar in her hand to buy myself 30 minutes longer in bed. I had to learn how to make healthy cereal bars - quick. Thirty minutes of sleep depended on it.

This is the first cereal bar recipe I tried and my family LOVE them!!!

Which do you think looks better???

Ingredients:

Small pat of Butter for greasing the pan

2 cups (175 g)oatmeal

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup  (55g) dried cranberries, chopped (this is easiest done in a food processor)

1/2 cup (118ml) plain, unsweetened almond milk  

1/2 cup (roughly 25-30g) of whole grain cereal or puffed quinoa or puffed rice cereal

1 cup (255g) organic almond butter** 

1/2 cup (118ml) maple syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 tsp fine himalayan or sea salt 

1 tsp good quality vanilla extract

** I used the brown almond butter (skin on)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Put a couple dabs of butter around a medium pyrex dish and then line with parchment paper (the butter will help the paper stick to the pan). Grease the paper lightly with the butter or a brush of oil.

Toast the oatmeal and pecans until fragrant and just golden. Turn toasted oats and nuts into a large bowl and add cranberries and whole grain cereal (ground a bit if necessary, for example if you are using spelt flakes). 

Heat almond milk in a medium saucepan until it comes just to a boil. Remove from heat and add almond butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. Return to heat and stir over a medium-low heat until well combined. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract and pour it over the oat mixture. Stir to combine.

Pour it all into prepared pan. Smooth it with a spatula. Place another piece of parchment over the top and smooth the top. Refrigerate at least one hour before cutting into bars. 

The best bit - they can be frozen and defrosted as you need! They keep well in the fridge for 1 week and frozen up to 3 months. I doubled the recipe, wrapped them in packs of three and defrost them as I need. 

Au Revoir Special K!!!!

Fun for her too - stirring the oats!