Muesli Bar

Muesli Bar

Muesli Bars that are gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, nut free and yet delicious and child friendly have been a quest for quite some time. Over the years there have been many commercial ones come and go but they always end up being very expensive and very high in sugar especially when they are nut free. Unfortunately our school has a nut free policy so we get creative with seeds around here! 

I find muesli bars a great way to get a lot of nutrition into kids as biscuits tend towards the starchy sugary options. 
I found a great recipe over at Mixing it Up in HK but needed to adapt to make it gluten free and sugar free. So after much fiddling and trialling on the kids we finally have a winner that is used everyday for school. I make a batch every week or so and pre slice and wrap for a quick addition to the lunchbox.
Make sure when sourcing your dried fruit for the museli bars that it is organic and sulfur dioxide (220) free. There is no need to ingest this preservative, I know the apricots look look black but the negative health issues with sulfur dioxide should make you not care about the colour! 
Sulfur dioxide (220) is a preservative used in dried fruit and wine making. It can cause asthma, skin conditions, abdominal issues to name a few. In all the years of intolerance testing at our clinic there are not many people who are OK with this chemical. So avoid at all times!

Muesli Bars

makes approx 20

Ingredients

65g brown rice

2 tablespoons pepitas

1 tablespoon linseeds

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 red apple peeled and quartered

100g organic dried apricots

50g organic dried figs

50g organic dried cranberries

4 fresh dates

25g organic dessicated coconut

40g coconut oil melted

2 eggs

50g honey

30g puffed amaranth

70g puffed brown rice (Good Morning Puffs are best)

Method

1. Place rice and seeds in Thermomix.    Grind 20sec / 9     Set aside

2. Place apple in Thermomix and chop into small chunks.  5sec / 5   Scrape down sides

3. Add all dried fruit into bowl with apple.  Turbo a couple of times until well chopped

4. Add flour mix from above, coconut, oil, eggs and honey.    Combine  5-10sec / 5-6

5. Add puffed amaranth.  Combine  5-10sec / 5-6

6. Weigh into a separate large mixing bowl the puffed brown rice.

7. Add the mixture from the Thermomix bowl to the puffs and combine well using a spatula or large wooden spoon. Mix until all puffs are well coated.

8. Press mixture into a well greased or silicon square 22cm pan.

9. Bake at 180oC for 20 minutes ... cool before removing from pan or cutting.

Serving Suggestions

Slice into 20 bars  ... I wrap each bar with a strip of greaseproof paper and seal with a little sticker.(This ensures the bar has not been shaken around and pulverised in their lunchbags!)

Store in an airtight container.

Mango Chutney

Mango Chutney

I truly dislike mangoes but do love a good mango chutney, my kids think I am weird. The problem with commercial mango chutney is that it is full of sugar so that makes it a no go. 
I adapted this recipe from one my Mum shared with me ... it is beautiful with a hint of chilli and goes great with fish, chicken, salad ... really anything you want!
As it is sugar free please store in the fridge and I freeze the excess (not that it lasts long around here). This of course can be made on the stove but I do love the ease with which the Thermomix makes all my jams, chutneys and sauces ... put it in, set time temp speed and walk away, come back later and bottle. Too easy!
You can use fresh or frozen mangoes for this recipe.

Mango Chutney

makes 2-3 jars

Ingredients

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

30g coconut oil

1 onion halved

4 mangoes (8 cheeks)

200g apple cider vinegar

200g honey

Method

1. chop garlic in Thermomix    3sec / 7

2. add mustard seeds, chilli flakes and coconut oil. Saute  3min / Varoma / 1   Set aside.

3. Chop onion in Thermomix  3 sec / 7

4. Add back oil mixture and saute    3min / Varoma / 1 (with cap off)

5. Add remaining ingredients and chop  10sec / 6

6. Cook 45min / Varoma / 1     (TM basket on top)

7. Once cooked pour into sterilised and preheated galss jars. Allow to cool to room temperature and store in the fridge. (I usually keep one jar in the fridge and freeze the rest until needed)

Serving Suggestions

Serve with fish, chicken, salad ... we eat it with everything!