Healthy breakfast bar /Granola bar
Breakfast!!
Most important but most neglected meal time…So many of us can relate to this sentence. With so many chore to do in the morning we always tend to put breakfast at last priority because we know there is a packet of cereal or porridge sitting in shelf which is at rescue every single day. Just pour in milk or yogurt, drop in some fruits and the bowl gives all energy we need.
Hardly we know or we ignore the facts that the store bought breakfast options are full of sugars /sweeteners/preservatives etc etc. Option we have is cook for breakfast or make something and store for few days. But there should be something thats filling the rumbling tummy.
My family has some fixed breakfast plans that we follow. There’s no time for cooking meat so we eat boiled/fried eggs OR Indian pancakes which are gluten free and vegan OR Homemade wholewheat bread toast with leftover sauted veggies. As you can see there’s at least one food which needs cooking be it a minute or so.
But there are days when chaos happen when we wake up late, we have to start early, little one kept everyone awake till late night so we are all snuggled up in blanket, some leftover homework strikes just with first ray of the Sun, or alarm snoozes snoozes and gives up … We need quick fixes on such days!
That when I thought of trying a Granola bar from store. We liked it, actually it tasted good. I had read the labels but kept thinking its just once in a while we have it so thats ok. But it’s not alright if we are having it often and I’m always reluctant to give something like this with so much of sugar ,preservatives to children. I made my own healthy breakfast bar and never looked back at the store bought.
ideally the ‘Granola bar’ consists of oats , sweetener, nut butter, nuts, fruits, berries etc. The one I’m describing here is one of our favourites amongst many I’ve tried. This doesn’t have oats but I’ve replaced it with an ancient grain called ‘Amaranth’.
Why Amaranth?
- Gluten free grain
- packed with amino acid: Lysin
- Easily digestible and abundant protein content.
- Rich in Iron, fiber, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium (better % than even oats)
- probably only grain with Vitamin C
And the fact that they look and taste better than any grain when popped up..they are little soft popcorns.
ideally the ‘Granola bar’ consists of oats , sweetener, nut butter, nuts, fruits, berries etc. The one I’m describing here is one of our favourites amongst many I’ve tried. This doesn’t have oats but I’ve replaced it with an ancient grain called ‘Amaranth’.
Why Amaranth?
- Gluten free grain
- packed with amino acid: Lysin
- Easily digestible and abundant protein content.
- Rich in Iron, fiber, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium (better % than even oats)
- probably only grain with Vitamin C
And the fact that they look and taste better than any grain when popped up..they are little soft popcorns.
My healthy bars have : amaranth, linseed, almonds, sunflower & pumpkin seeds ,gojji berries and cranberries with a natural sweetness from fresh dates with a hint of coconut oil.
Linseed have : omega-3 fatty acids
Sunflower seeds have: vitamin E ,copper and vitamin B1
Pumpkin seeds have : omega 3 and omega-6 fatty acids, antioxidants and sterols to keep bad cholesterol away.
Goji berries have: Vit A,C ,zinc, iron
Cranberries have: vit A,C, fiber and antioxidants.
Making almond butter: dry roast almonds and grind it in blender.
Steps to make:
Add dollop of coconut oil for smooth almond butter.
Dry roast almonds, sunflower seeds ,linseed and pumpkin seeds. Add in Gojji berries and cranberries.
Pop amaranth little by little to get small amaranth pops.
Mix in almond butter and dates puree in a wok. Heat the mixture on low flame till mixed well.
Add in seeds, berries, nuts.
Mix well and add popped amaranth as you need.
Set mixture in lined tray, cut and serve.
: Recipe Card :
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings |
pieces
|
- 1/2 + 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup linseed
- 1/2 cup Amaranth seeds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup goji berries
- 1/4 cup dry cranberries
- 1 cup Medjool dates (or any soft variety of dates)
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/8 tsp Himalayan salt
Ingredients
|
|
- Dry roast 1/2 cup almonds on low flame and grind it to fine powder. Later add 1 Tbsp coconut oil and blend it to form smooth paste...almond butter is ready.
- Line a tray with parchment paper and keep aside.
- Dry roast 1/2 cup almonds, linseed, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds separately on low flame till they swell up and turn light brown. To this add 1/4 cup of gojji berries and dry cranberries each. Mix well
- Amaranth seeds are quite tough and so could be chewy if added directly into bar .So we need to pop them up. Heat wok on medium-high flame. Add 2 tsp of amaranth seeds, keep stirring.As soon as they start popping, put a lid on wok and keep moving the wok so the seeds don't burn. Within a minute , the seeds are popped. Transfer it to plate and follow same procedure with remaining amaranth seeds.
- Deseed the dates and pulse them in a blender to make a fine paste.
- In the same wok, on low heat, add the almond butter and dates paste. Stir for a minute till well combined. Switch off flame. Add in nuts, seeds and berries along with popped amaranth as well. Mix well and set in the tray.
- After an hour, cut them into desired shape, size. I usually make rectangles. Store in airtight container. Stays fresh upto 15-20 days depending upon the weather.
Good to know:
- I've added nuts-seeds-berries combination which my children are reluctant to eat and trust me, this way in the bar they eat it fondly without knowing what goes in it. You can choose your own combination.
- The setting of bar depends on how soft are the dates. If you feel the bars are not setting, add more paste of dates and it should work.
- Coconut oil can be substituted with ghee.
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