Salted Nut Bars

Salty nuts + butterscotch + shortbread. What's not to like? These gooey bar cookies are yummy, easy to make, and a nice after school treat. Watch for the cans of mixed nuts to go on sale and grab one for these treats--you'll need about the equivalent of one can. I used lightly salted, but I don't think "full salt" would be bad either!

Salted Nut Bars
~from the Betty Crocker Cookbook (2006)

• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 2 c. salted, mixed nuts or peanuts
• 1 c. butterscotch chips
• 1/2 c. light corn syrup
• 2 T. butter

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until it looks evenly mixed and crumbly. Pat into a 13x9-inch pan (no need to grease the pan!). Bake 15 minutes; cool slightly.
2. While shortbread is baking, cut up any large nuts and set nuts aside. Heat remaining ingredients together in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until chips melt. 
3. When shortbread is done, pull out of oven. Sprinkle nuts evenly over the top. Pour melted butterscotch mixture evenly over top and bake for 5 more minutes.
4. For bars, cut into desired pieces while cookies are still warm (but not hot).

 ~Makes 32 small bars (those pictured are larger)

Peanut Butter-Banana Roll-Ups

Yum! A new breakfast, lunch, or snack recipe that's adaptable, healthy, and delicious! What more do you need? Oh--bonus: it's VERY kid-friendly. I have adapted the recipe slightly.... This is also a good recipe for kids to help make.

~From Cooking Light

• 1/2 c. peanut butter (creamy or chunky, reduced fat or full fat, natural or not)
• 1/3 c. vanilla or plain yogurt
• 1 T. orange juice (can be from concentrate)
• 2 ripe bananas, sliced
• 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas (white or whole wheat/whole grain)
  
• 2 T. wheat germ, original or honey-crunch
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• extra honey, esp if using plain yogurt, natural peanut butter, and/or plain wheat germ

1. Mix peanut butter and yogurt together. I found that creamy spread better, but we like the crunch of chunky.
2. Toss bananas with juice (gently!).
3. Mix wheat germ and cinnamon together.
   
4. Assemble: Spread about 3 tablespoons of peanut butter/yogurt mixture over each tortilla, leaving about 1/2-inch of space at edges. Spread 1/3 cup of bananas (or 1/4 of the amount you have sliced) on top, making sure they're in one layer. Sprinkle with wheat germ. If desired, drizzle with extra honey. (I don't think you'll need extra honey if you use regular peanut butter, vanilla yogurt, and honey-crunch wheat germ, but if you use the plain/unsweetened versions of those ingredients, you may want a little.)
5. Roll up, flattening slightly. Slice in half or thirds.

~Makes 4 roll-ups: 1 roll-up is an ample breakfast (was a little too much for one of my kids); half or thirds would make great snack options or a part of a meal

Granola Bars

I have seen this recipe numerous places, but I'll cite the version/place I saw it first. I've made a few changes in my version below (including doubling it and making it in a different style pan); feel free to check out the original! These are our favorite snack to take en route to swim lessons. They taste an awful lot like a glorified, hearty oatmeal raisin cookie.

~Recipe from allrecipes.com

• 4 c. rolled oats
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 c. wheat germ
• 2 c. white whole wheat flour
  
• 1 rounded t. cinnamon
• 1 rounded t. salt
• 1+ c. chopped nuts
  
• 1 1/2 c. raisins
• 1 generous cup honey
• 1 generous cup oil (canola, vegetable, whatever)
• 2 eggs
• 2 generous t. vanilla

1. Line a jelly roll pan with foil or wax paper; spray lightly with Pam. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Mix all dry ingredients together thoroughly (kids love to help with this).
3. Mix wet ingredients together and pour into dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly (with hands or a giant spoon).
4. Dump mixture into prepared pan. Wet hands and pat mixture firmly into pan.
   
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until browned on top (they'll look pretty brown).
6. Cool 5 minutes and then cut into bars and remove to a cooling rack! Don't delay or they'll harden too much to cut/serve.

Makes ~40 bars

Pretend Soup

This makes a delicious snack or lunch offering--especially in the winter when so many fresh fruits are not in season and expensive. The "soup" is cold, though, so save it for a warmer winter day! We used frozen berries with their juice in our soups in the picture; hence the swirly colors.

From Pretend Soup (see the cookbook itself for kid-friendly pictures/directions; this is an easy recipe for preschoolers to make for themselves)

• 2 c. orange juice
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 1 T. honey
• 2 t. lemon juice
• 1 c. berries (any kind, fresh or frozen; thaw frozen ones first and include the juices)
• 1 banana, sliced

1. Place the orange juice in a bowl. Add yogurt, honey, and lemon juice.
2. Whisk "until it is all one color."
3. Place 5 banana slices and 2 tablespoons berries in each bowl (~4 bowls).
4. Ladle soup over berries and bananas and eat!

~about 4 servings

Top 5 Preschool-Friendly Snacks

I don't know about you, but when I see lists of "healthy kid-friendly snacks" that include raw veggies with bean dip, anything rolled up, or an assortment of anything cut-up, I groan.

Currently, I have three preschoolers. When we need a snack, it's to tide us over to the next meal... a meal I want my preschoolers to be hungry for. In addition, our snacks are frequently on the run--tiding the kids over until we back home from our errands, a quick post-nap snack before heading out to play, and so forth.

Here are the top 5 full tummies preschool-friendly snacks: portable, healthy, and reasonably quick/uninvolved.

1. sliced apples with peanut butter
2. homemade popcorn
3. cheese stick with mini-box of raisins (our favorite portable snack)
4. In-the-Moment Trail Mix (a compilation of whatever's on hand: peanuts, raisins, mini marshmallows, cheerios, chocolate chips, pretzels, etc.)
5. other seasonal fruit with or without some sort of protein complement (peanuts, peanut butter, cheese, etc.)
   

Apple Spice Cake

This cake is super moist and gets more flavorful as it sits/cools--a perfect make-the-day-ahead-cake (or 2 days or... freeze it!).

~Recipe from Joy of Cooking, 1997 edition

• 1 1/2 c. flour (all white or half white/half whole wheat)
• 1 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. cloves
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 c. buttermilk or plain yogurt
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 2 T. rum or brandy, optional (I didn't use)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 c. chopped apples (can leave skins on if desired; I didn't)
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8x8-inch pan or line the bottom with wax or parchment paper.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together, making sure to pinch out any lumps from the brown sugar.
3. Add buttermilk or yogurt, oil, brandy, and vanilla; stir until smooth.
4. Stir in apples and nuts, if using.
5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
7. Serve from pan or invert pan onto cooling rack, peel off paper, and flip back over (this is tricky!).
8. Can ice with basic white frosting but it's delicious plain.

Makes 1 8x8-inch cake (16 servings)

Chocolate Revel Bars

Per request, I'm posting this recipe for a yummy snack/dessert. These are not "health food," but I'd venture to bet that they're easily as healthy as most "granola bars" sold today!

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 11th edition

• 1 c. butter
• 2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 t. baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 2 t. vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour (I used half white whole wheat)
• 3 c. oats (can use quick-cooking or old-fashioned)
• 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet--I use bittersweet)
• 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk (can use low-fat)
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
• 2 t. vanilla
• 1+ t. salt (recipe doesn't call for salt; I added 1 teaspoon and thought it might have needed a touch more....)

1. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the butter. In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and baking soda (and salt, if using). Beat 'til combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla 'til combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour and then the oats. Stir in nuts if you don't like the texture of them in the filling.
   
2. For filling, in a medium saucepan, combine the reserved 2 tablespoons butter, chocolate chips, and condensed milk. Cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts and 2 teaspoons vanilla (I put the nuts in my dough, not my filling).
3. Press two-thirds of the oats mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Spread filling evenly over the oat mixture. Dot remaining rolled oats mixture on filling (sort of flatten clumps with your fingers and lay them on top).
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned (chocolate filling will still look moist). Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.
   

Makes 60 bars (I got about 48--it's hard to cut this into 60 bars).

Irish/Scottish Oatmeal Cookies

I found this recipe on the back of two oatmeal containers; one was a "Scottish Oatmeal" container and the other "Irish Oatmeal." They are produced by the same people, and the only difference in the two cookie recipes is the amount of oats to flour. (I can't remember which was which, now.) These are not like the oatmeal cookies you usually buy/make, but they are rather addictive nonetheless. Since they contain honey and butter instead of sugar and Crisco, they are more cake-y than crisp/chewy. Try these instead of a Nutrigrain bar for your kids' snack sometime; these are better for you!

2 1/2 cups oats*
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour*
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 c. honey or maple syrup
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional
1/2 cup raisins, optional

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Combine dry ingredients and mix well. Mix honey, margarine or butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add egg. Blend with dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Stir in raisins and nuts if using. Place rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake approximately 10 minutes. Cool.

Makes 50 small/medium cookies; cookies freeze well.

*You may also use 3 cups oats to 1 cup flour; these cookies will be more fragile and will spread more in the oven. They aren't "pretty," but I like them better. The recipe as given will produce a more cake-y cookie. This version doesn't freeze as well.