Food Storage Friday: No-Bake Energy Bars

Well  it's summer in St George and I have officially reached that point where I avoid using my oven at all costs. Recently I found this recipe for  no-bake energy bars and I am in love. I found the recipe on Skinny Bovine's Kitchen and she got it from Love Veggies and Yoga. I made a couple of minor changes. These things make a great breakfast on the go. Enjoy.

No-Bake Energy Bars
Food Storage Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used cashews)
1/2 cup maple syrup (the real stuff)
1/2 cup dried fruit (I used craisins)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

Fresh Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 Tablespoon wheat germ (optional)

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. 2. Flatten on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. (I found to fill a standard size cookie sheet you need to double the batch.) 3. Freeze for 8 hours, cut into bars, wrap in plastic wrap or individual baggies. Store in the freezer because they soften up quickly.

Eating these when they soften up reminds me of eating oatmeal cookie dough, but it's safer and healthier.

6 Healthy Junk Food Alternatives for Kids

Joy Paley is a guest blogger for An Apple a Day and a writer on earning your nursing degree  for the Guide to Health Education.

Sure, we all want our kids to eat healthier. But where do you even start, when their main dietary staples are hot dogs and chips? It’s hard enough to get adventurous eaters to try anything labeled “healthy,” much less a kid who lives off two main food groups that weren’t even invented a hundred years ago. The key to keeping your kid feeling well, however, is to make sure they get a variety of foods. Try out this list of sneakily healthy alternatives on your kid---you may just end up with a few more foods that they’ll actually ask to eat.

Junk food kids love: Chips

A healthy alternative: Bagel Chips

• Why kids will love them: While pita chips might be a good “adult” alternative to potato chips, the taste is a little bland in comparison. Bagel chips have the same satisfying crunch and crispiness of potato chips, to pass a kid’s taste test. Stacy’s brand comes in yummy varieties like garlic and everything bagel. They’re not fried, and they have less fat and sodium than regular chips.

Junk food kids love: Hot Dogs

A healthy alternative: Turkey Dogs

• Why kids will love them: While it’s probably impossible to sneak a tofu dog passed your kid’s taste buds, turkey dogs mimic the flavor and texture of traditional dogs quite well. The upside? They have a lot less fat than regular hot dogs, and you can easily find brands that promise organic meat and no nitrates or fillers. 

Junk food kids love: Oreos

A healthy alternative: Bananas and Raw Chocolate Spread

• Why kids will love it: You’re not skimping on taste, when you choose a chocolate spread made with real cacao and sweetened with a low glycemic index sweetener like agave nectar. Instead of eating Oreos that are full of fat, processed sugar, and an array of artificial flavors, you’ll be feeding them something that’s actually real food. Love street is one brand to check out.

Junk food kids love: French Fries

A healthy alternative: Cheese Straws

• Why kids will love them: Kids can’t get enough French fries, not only because they quell a hunger for something salty, fatty, and fried, but also because they’re fun and easy to eat. Baked cheddar cheese straws are a kid friendly shape, and they’re great for on the go. Pack some in a Ziploc instead of stopping at a fast food joint. While they’re not exactly as healthy as carrot sticks, they’ll keep you out of that drive through window.

Junk food kids love: Sugar Cereal

A healthy alternative: Organic Cereal

• Why kids will love it: While you can’t really find the day-glo colors of Lucky Charms anywhere else, you can find cereals that have real wholesome ingredients, less sugar, and even better taste. Most kids cereals are fortified with vitamins, but that’s no good reason to get your kid hooked on a bowl of sugar for breakfast. Nature’s Path Envirokidz line includes some great kid friendly cereals, like the peanut butter Panda Puffs, which are high on taste but low on sugar and other processed ingredients.

Junk food kids love: Ketchup and Ranch Dip

A healthy alternative: Hummus

• Why kids will love it: You may have trouble getting your kids to try hummus for the first time, but after they have taken the initial plunge, I bet they’ll love this snack. It’s delicious, and the protein will have them hooked—the hummus will satisfy in a way that those other low-nutrient spreads won’t. It’s fun to eat, and if you pair it with bagel chips, you’ve replaced a former high-calorie junk food pair with a delicious alternative. It’s great for kids’ lunches or on-the-go after sports practice, and it comes in tasty flavors like garlic and red pepper.

My latest way to sneak veggies to my children

If you're like me and many other moms, you struggle to get your kids to eat veggies. (Click here for my favorite means of sneaking it to them.) And I'm always looking for ways to get my kids to eat better that actually work. Here's my latest trick: Pepperidge Farm Garden Cheddar Goldfish. Each 1.1 oz serving of crackers contains 1/3 serving of vegetables. Yes, nutritionally, this is not as good as eating whole vegetables, but it's a taste that my kids love, are familiar with and is easy to stash in my purse for those times when we're out and my kids need a snack. The crackers are baked with dried vegetable powder in the mix and my kids love them. There is a slight veggie taste to them, but honestly think that it improves the flavor. And right now they're on sale for $0.88 per package at Smith's.

Quick After School Snack

Here's something we've been eating since jr high and I don't remember exactly where it came from. It's not low cal, but that doesn't mean that it's not nutritious. Plus, it's quick and easy. I remember eating it often after school and the protein in the peanut butter in a few of these plus a glass of milk would help hold me over until dinner. I still like to snack on these and my kids love them too, especially if I let them make faces with their toppings. I prefer them crammed with as many toppings as will stick to the peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Graham Crackers

• Graham crackers
• peanut butter
• raisins, dried cranberries, and/or chopped apricots
  
• chocolate chips

For every half graham cracker, spread about 1 tablespoon (more or less) of peanut butter. Sprinkle or arrange a couple teaspoons of toppings as desired. You can also add mini marshmallows, but I prefer them without.