Homemade Muesli Bars

I hate buying muesli bars!! Partly it's the cost and packaging, but mainly it's all the sugar and fat that they pack them with. I'm not saying that these ones are fat and sugar-free, but at least there is so much goodness packed into them that they don't need to be. In our house these are strictly rationed for lunchboxes, otherwise Craig would eat them all in an evening.

I should say that this recipe is adapted from the Super Musesli Bars in Alison Holst's Meals Without Meat cookbook. :-)

1/4c oil
1/4c peanut butter
1/2c honey

Bring to boil in saucepan stirring frequently, turn to low heat and simmer until it forms a soft ball when you drop a little in cold water.

Prepare dry ingredients while wet ingredients cook.

1 and 1/2c cereal of choice (I used 1c rolled oats and 1/2c flaked amaranth but I've also used wheatgerm, puffed quinoa, even rice bubbles).
1c seeds (I like a mix of sunflower seeds. sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds)

Toast cereal and seeds on a baking tray under the grill. Stir frequently to ensure it doesn't burn.

1/2c dried fruit (eg apricots, raisins or dates) - chopped into small bits

Once honey mixture is cooked quickly mix in cereal, seeds and fruit and press into a baking dish lined with baked paper.

Wait to it's cooled slightly (but not completely) set before cutting into bars. Keep in fridge.

Kids Nacho Bites

Maia so loved these individual nachos that I made for her that I took a photo so I could remember this one again. The corn chips are the plain Mexicano brand - they are large enough to hold the toppings and are the only ones at the supermarket without all the nasty artificial flavours. At 2.5yrs she was easily able to eat each chip without dropping the toppings.

On each chip I layered: grated cheese, Mexican Beans, plain greek yoghurt, guacamole, and ground almond/sesame sprinkle.

Pad Thai

This one won't win an prizes for beauty and I'm sure it's not authentic in the slightest but it was easy to make and for a change it passed the fussy 2.5yr old test.

I'm not going to get to specific with the ingredients here cos one of the beauties of stir fry type dishes is you can use whatever you have to hand. I would also add chilli to it if it wasn't for the toddler in the house (although it is quite cute when she tries something hot and says 'spicy' and tries to pull it off her tongue).

For this one I used tofu - I tossed this in cornflour, sesame seeds and salt before I shallow fried till crispy.

Sauce - mix together:
1/4c rice vinegar
1/4c white sugar
3T fish sauce
2T tomato paste
1 large kaffir lime leave (sliced) - optional

Rice noodles (any width) - cook as on package

3c sliced veges eg carrots, courgettes, spring onions
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2c peanuts or cashew nuts
Protein eg shrimps, prawns, tofu or chicken
Bean sprouts and coriander - optional

Heat oil in wok and stir fry veges.

Add sauce, protein and nuts and stir fry till protein is cooked.

Mix in noodles and bean sprouts / coriander and serve.