Weekend Bake; Chewy Peanut Butter Muesli Bars

I've developed a tradition in my house; every weekend, I bake a new work-friendly snack for Mr. Lemon Living. It started off as a convenient way for me to try out new baking recipes, but one week, 3 or so months ago I skipped the baking and left packaged muesli bars for Mr. LL to graze on during the week. Much to my delight, by Tuesday night Mr. LL was telling me that he missed having something home made in his work bag. The rest is history.

It should be mentioned that, as Mr. LL has grown custom to my super healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner options, the weekly bake is almost never a healthy option. It's kind of an admittance on my part that if you're going to bake, it's really going to taste better with butter, sugar and the rest. Having said that, I usually eat one serving of each baking batch. There's usually excess which gets taken to work to share, or delivered to family or friends.

Here's to Lemon Living's first display of the weekend bake!

Chewy Peanut Butter Muesli Bars

Recipe from New Idea

I;

1 3/4 cups Rolled Oats

1/4 cup Pepitas

1 tbsp Seasame Seeds

1/2 cup Honey

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

2 cups Cornflakes

1/2 cup Sultanas

1/2 cup Crunchy Peanut Butter

125g unsalted Butter.

M;

Grease an 18cm x 28cm rectangular slice pan. Line base and sides of pan with baking paper, extending paper 3cm above pan edges - (I used 1 20x20cm pan, and 1 loaf tin as my pans were all too big).

Place rolled oats, cornflakes, pepitas, sultanas and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Stir to combine.

Combine peanut butter, honey, chopped butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring, over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until mixture is slightly thickened.

Add honey mixture to oat mixture. Stir to combine.

Press combined mixture firmly over base of prepared slice pan.

Refrigerate until firm.

To serve, lift slice from pan, cut into rectangles.

This slice is yummy with a capital ! I think as a peanut butter super-lover, I am slightly biased as it is super peanut butter-y. My only criticisms of this slice is that it is super sweet, to the point of a sugar headache after 1 serving for me, but I am very sensitive to sugar. Mine also didn't set very hard (if you hold a bar from one end, it flops and falls apart), so I have wrapped them in individual portions and put them in the freezer door for Mr. LL to grab on his way out in the mornings.

Ignoring that, it's just ridiculously tasty.

Note that despite my extreme love of natural peanut butter and intolerance of the processed stuff, the processed stuff always stands up better against other ingredients in baking. I keep some in the house purely for this reason.

Also note the above as an amazing example of muesli bars not always being the healthiest option, and an excellent example of how they can be higher in fat and sugar than many dessert options.

Also note that sometimes, you just gotta' enjoy it.

Stay well,

Nat x

Healthy Fruit & Nut Slice

This is a recipe I found on Best Recipes while searching for healthy slices and, although I was super skeptical that it would work with so few ingredients, it came out a treat. The only down side is it's not the cheapest slice once you pick up the almonds and dried fruit, and it stinks while it's cooking, (of eggs). I added a few pepitas, but apart from that I followed the recipe exactly. I very much recommend it as a yummy way to get a protein and sugar hit for your mid morning or afternoon snack.

Healthy Fruit & Nut Slice

as found on Best Recipes

I;

2 Cups Sultanas

1 Cup chopped dried Apricots

1 Cup Almonds (whole or chopped)

1 Tbps plain flour (I used wholemeal)

1 Tbps milk (I didn't use this and they were fine)

2-3 Eggs, beaten (2 was enough for my mix)

M;

Mix all ingredients together well

Press into greased slice tray (I highly recommend baking paper)

Bake at 180c for 20 minutes

Cut into squares when cool

This slice has no butter or sugar, which puts it at least 3 heads above most slice recipes, and it's also lacking in flour for anyone with an irrational fear of carbohydrates. Yes, dried fruit is very high in sugar, but you're hardly eating a chocolate bar when you're packing vitamins B1 and 2 in the sultanas, vitamin A in the apricots and loads of fibre in both. We all know how amazing almonds are with their vitamin e, oils and protein, and together they make a sort of super-slice. I wouldn't eat the whole tray in one afternoon, but portioned out over a week of snacking it's perfect.

I'll let you know how making it with other items, like oats, in the mix goes.

Stay well,
Nat x

Peanut Choc-Chip Muffins

Although I whole-heartedly believe in a balanced lifestyle and all the perfectly balanced meals that come with that, I believe that a big part of every balanced lifestyle should be a few meals that would be suitable for a detox, and some suitable for a re-tox. Both of which are fine in a balanced scheme of things along with what I hope is your life of mainly balanced meals.

However, this is the re-tox.

Peanut Choc-Chip Muffins

(For Casey)

Recipe from 'The Essential Vegetarian CookBook' - Murdoch Books

I;

2 cups (250g) self-raising flour

1/3 cup (80g) raw sugar

1 1/2 (240g) dark choc bits

1 egg

1 cup (250g) crunchy peanut butter

2 tablespoons strawberry jam (I used raspberry)

60g butter, melted

1 cup (250ml) milk

Icing sugar for dusting (I ignored this)

M;

Preheat oven to moderate 180c

Brush a 12 hike standard muffin tin with melted butter or oil (I sprayed olive oil)

Sift flour into large bowl

Add sugar and choc bits; make a well in the centre

Add combined egg, peanut butter, jam, butter and milk

Stir until just combined (do not over beat)

Spoon evenly into muffin cups

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

Loosen the muffins in the pan and leave for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack

When cool, dust with icing sugar (I found them sweet enough)

Enjoy!

Stay well,

Nat x