As a busy working mum, getting my three kids to eat healthy has always been a high priority.

But—how difficult do they make it these days?! (“They” being the food manufacturers.)

For years, I bought my kids the “healthy” breakfast bars, granola bars and “natural” trail-bars that were on offer, thinking that they were at least getting one thing that was healthy in their bodies that day. Then, if I served up something that wasn’t super healthy for supper, I could ease my conscience a little bit.

But as I got older, I’ve gotten wiser, and I have—in my new-found wisdom—checked the ingredients in these so-called healthy bars, and wow! With hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup and even MSG in some of them, I decided that I needed to get organised and make some of these myself—without the nasties.

I decided to get my alchemist hat on (well, my chef’s hat, anyway), and start trialing some recipes to make these bars what they purport to be—healthy! And by Jove, I’ve done it! No nasties in these beauties.

So give them a go—they are great for breakfast on the go, for the kids’ lunchboxes, or as a  healthy mid morning snack for all of us! The recipe below is my low-carb version, as I now make these for myself, and I need to sometimes reign my carb intake in.

The beauty of these bars is that every single ingredient is good for us and they are portable—and for all the busy mums out there, they are really quick and easy to make!

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Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup hazelnuts  
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup flaxmeal (or seeds) plus 1 Tbsp
3 tsp water
3.4 fl oz yacon syrup 
1 egg white (I give the egg yolk to my dog—he loves them!)

Notes: 

Soak nuts for 12-24 hours before, if you can. Also, you can use whichever nuts, in whatever ratio you like—but don’t use peanuts.

The extra 1 tbsp of flaxseeds/meal, plus the water, is a natural and healthy way to bind the bars together.

Method:

1. Place all dry ingredients (except the 1 tbsp of flax meal) in your blender, and blend until coarse crumbs.
2. Place the blended, dry ingredients into a bowl and add the yacon syrup.
3. Mix the Tbsp of flaxseeds/meal with the water, and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
4. Add the flax seeds and egg white to the mixture, and using your hands, bind all ingredients together. If still too dry to “clump” add a little extra water.
5. Spread mixture out on a Silpat mat. Gently mark out your bars with a sharp knife, and bake at 170 Fahrenheit for 90 minutes.

This will make about 18 bars—enough to keep you going for weeks! Keep them in airtight container. Enjoy, and know that you are making a difference for your kids, for yourself and for your body!

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Author: Claire Preen

Image: Author’s own

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina