Apricot-Walnut Cereal Bars

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

15 May 2008 05:53 AM

Making a concerted effort to eat a good breakfast is important. We all know it, and the experts tell us this all the time. But so often breakfast is the last thing on our minds in the morning. In fact, my husband refuses to eat breakfast unless it's left over in someone else's cereal bowl. He 'claims' he doesn't have time. (We all know that it really is a matter of making time, but that's beside the point.)

If this at all sounds familiar, here's a smart solution: breakfast on the go. These bars are super easy to make and don't require a lot of fuss. Yet they're delicious and you can grab and go on your way out the door. And did I mention that they're super nutritious too? These bars pack a huge wallop of energy boosting protein along with great nutrition.

You will need:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces)

3 cups unsweetened puffed-grain cereal, such as rice krispies

2 cups chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup honey

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large (15 1/4-by-10 1/4-inch) jellyroll-style pan with cooking spray. (I use parchment paper on top of the cooking spray as well.)

Spread oats and walnuts on a baking sheet with sides. Bake until fragrant and light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and add puffed cereal, dried apricots, flour and salt; stir to combine.

Meanwhile, mix together well the milk, egg, oil, honey, vanilla and zest in a food processor or blender until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Make a well in the center of the oat mixture; fold in the wet mixture until combined. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake until firm in the center and golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars with a sharp knife. These will have the consistency of semi-crunchy granola bars.

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Oatmeal Waffles with Homemade Apple Butter

Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.

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Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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