"Is dinner ready?" NO! "But Im starving......"

This pretty much sums it up!

Always running, getting lots of fresh air, no wonder
he's constantly hungry I suppose! 

So as I said in the last post September was a very busy month and I completely failed to notice the amount of food Seán eats theses days! His appetite has really come on. Maybe it’s a growth spurt, or him just being a boy but what ever it is its great! He’s eating everything! (well….most things!!) We have Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner sorted- we have loads of dishes to make that we all enjoy etc. Snacks are my problem! You know that time between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner and dinner and tea- well the growing boy eats at all these intervals! He’s great on fruit, so lots of novelty ways of eating fruit are tried and tested. Nuts and raisins are also good. But then what else can I give him to keep him ticking over? It needs to be lunch box friendly, that can be picked up running out the door to the playground, Granny’s etc...?? It also needs to be dairy free! I welcome all ideas. I’m on a mission to find and make healthy snacks to keep Seánie (and
Daddy and I) ticking over! Any ideas I try will be posted in the ‘Country Cooking’ tab!

Yesterday we tried Granny Jane’s Muesli Bars. Any time we go to Granny Jane’s in Kilkenny she has lovely baking done. These Muesli bars are always delish so I gave them a go (recipe in ‘Country cooking Tab’). They turned out lovely, not as nice as Granny Jane’s so must ask her for tips at the weekend. Seán and I  had one with a cup of tea and honestly I was stuffed! They are a bit crumbly so maybe next time ill put more coconut oil. I’m not convinced about the ‘healthiness’ part however. There is a lot of sugar and honey, and there are also coconut flakes, which a friend said could be high in fat! Eek!!! There is some goodness in them though as they are packed with seeds and nuts! Look it ,it’s better than a bar of chocolate, keeps up ticking over until dinner, recipe makes a good patch that are easy to grab and go, so for my first day of the healthy snack mission, its not a bad start at all!

Ill try again and let you know how it goes. Would love any ideas for other recipes.

MUSELI BARS

Makes approx. 28 little bars/squares

350g (12oz/3 ½ cups) rolled oats

30g (1 oz./ ½ cup)   shredded coconuts

50g (1 ¾ oz./ ½ cups) flaked almonds

45g  (1 ¾ oz. / ½ cup) wheatgerm

30g (1 oz./ ¼ cups) sesame seeds

35g (1 ¼ oz./ ¼ cups) sunflower seeds

55g (2oz/ 1/3 cup) copped dried apricots (I didn’t have so just left out)

185 ml (6fl oz./ ¾ cups) honey (I only had Manuka honey so used that)

55g (2 oz./ ¼ cups) soft brown sugar

125 ml (4fl oz./ ½ cup) vegetable oil (I used coconut oil instead)

* I added 4 tablespoons of flaxseed & goji berries also

Preheat over to 130oC (250oF/Gas 1) and lightly grease and line a 35x25cm (14 x10 inch) tin.

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowel, minus the sugar, and mix lightly together.

Put the honey, sugar and oil into a small pan and stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Pour this over the dry ingredients in the bowl and stir until everything is well combined, mixing with your hands if necessary.

Press the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 minutes or until golden.

Cut into bars while still warm.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading. 

Kerri and Orla xx

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