Breakfast Bars

Lately it's been really hard to fill up my kids. At 3 and almost 5 these boys eat a LOT.  Even my 5 month old who has just started on solids has already eaten kilos of fruit and vegetable purees. Heaven help us when they're teenagers!!!

I spend a lot of time looking for new recipes for snacks and quick meals that will fill them up for longer. My main criteria are high protein, low/no sugar and wholegrain. I've been reading Bianca's Wholefood Simply blog for ages but last week I splurged and bought her gorgeous cookbook of the same name. It is a treasure trove of favourites from the blog and so beautifully photographed and put together. The boys spent a good half an hour last night before bed flicking through and deciding what they would like me to make.

For me these breakfast bars were an immediate winner in terms of both ingredients and being so easy to make. My boys loved them for afternoon tea with a glass of milk and it keeps them going until dinner.

Breakfast Bars
Very slightly adapted from Wholefood Simply

1 cup raw macadamias
1 cup dessicated coconut
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 ts vanilla extract
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a loaf pan with baking paper and set aside.

If you have a high speed blender or food processor simply throw in all the ingredients and blitz until smooth. If you think your blender would struggle (like mine did), use it to process the nuts then simply mix with the remaining ingredients in a bowl.

Tip the mix into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for approx 25 minutes or until it is golden around the edges and skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool on a wire rack then slice into bars and enjoy!