It could have something to do with the fact that being Middle Eastern, growing up, a treat usually consisted of a Medjool date with a walnut stuffed inside. So I just love them.Yum!

You’re going to love this oat slice which is the quickest thing to make, totally scrumptious, and perfect for lunch boxes.

You may also like to check out my popular recipe ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes, much loved by long suffering, lunchbox making parents everywhere.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved!

Print

Oat, Seed and Date Bars

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 100 grams butter
• 1/3 cup coconut or rapadura sugar
• 1/2 cup Medjool dates chopped
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees.
• Grease and line a 9 x 22cm loaf tin with parchment paper.
• Melt butter in small saucepan, once melted keep on very low heat and whisk in the sugar until smooth.
• Turn heat off, add dates and stir through. I highly recommend dipping the finger in to make sure it tastes ok.
• Transfer to a large bowl and stir in egg and vanilla.
• Add flour, oats, chia and sunflower seeds and stir until combined.
• If mixture appears too wet, add in more oats and flour and stir through
• Pour into loaf tin and bake for 20 minutes.
• Cool in pan for 5 minutes, turn out onto a wire rack.
• Once cool, slice into bars and pop into lunchboxes.
• Can be frozen.

Notes

NB: If texture is an issue you can grind up the sunflower and chia seeds before adding to the mixture.

If you make this recipe please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life. 

And remember, if you haven’t already, grab your copy of Easy Wholefood Luncbboxes here.

Other recipes you may like are my Raspberry Coconut Squares and the Orange and Poppy Seed Bars. 

Bren x

Happy Mother’s Day everyone! And by everyone, I mean Mums.

I’m never quite sure where the apostrophe goes in ‘Mother’s Day’. That’s true of most apostrophes, bothersome little things that they are, but is that the right place? Or is it ‘Mothers’ Day’, as in the collective noun that describes a hotbed/brilliance/sparkle of Mothers? Whatever the case, in this house it will be ‘Mother’s Day’ (there being only one, as far as I know), where my agenda will include lots of things that make life very simple … for me.

Specifically, I’m expecting:

– no responsibilites (I’m not here, I’m not here … unless you’re spoiling me)

– no decisions (which, granted, could go pear-shaped if history is a guide)

– a general smattering of spoiling by my family (so I hope you’re reading!)

– no apostrophes

– palm leaves and grapes (soaring too close to the sun?…)

– breakfast in bed (no, hubby, you’re not invited – get your apron on)

When I thought about brekky, it dawned on me (get it? get it?) that I had so many breakfast ideas on this little blog of mine, and I had quite forgotten how many. So, strap yourself in for a short compilation of some of my favourite brekkies. ‘Get your orders in early’ is my advice!

My latest and favourite is the Date and Walnut Muesli. It’s so totally simple that it can be prepared the night before in 5 minutes flat, even by males (well, 25 minutes and four days for them). It’s so full of goodness and it’s great to know that some of the ingredients are boosting my immune system. This is a great one for the kids if they want to do it themselves and serve to Mama with some extra yoghurt and fresh fruit.

I haven’t made my famous ‘Notella’ for a while, so bring it on so I can lather it onto some Spelt and Buckwheat pancakes, or some Sonoma Spelt Sourdough bread. It’s so simple to make in the food procerssor or Thermomix, I think the kids could handle this one on their own. Dad could help them out with a warming cup of chai tea to accompany. Mmmmmm!

But what if I’m feeling in more of a savoury mood? Well, cue my tasty Egg Muffins, which never let me down. I just hope the kids remember that I particularly love them wrapped in a piece of organic bacon, or they could ‘surprise. Perhaps a variation like spinach and ricotta! Just as long as they remember the cheese please (love the stuff!)

Any recipe that includes the words ‘coconut cream’ or ‘ginger ‘ automatically gets my vote. So a steaming bowl of my Coconut and Ginger Infused Rice Porridge would be a welcome breakfast in bed. So nourishing and grounding and made out of only properly prepared natural ingredients. Yum!

These Date and Cinnamon muffins are a cracker! With the gorgeous richness of dates and the warming sweetness of the cinnamon, it’s a match made in heaven! Plus with all the added benefits of vitamins and minerals and the cinnamons’s blood-stabilizing effects. These would be complemented beautifully with a steaming mug of hot chocolate made from my ‘Notella’ stirred into some hot milk. So indulgent, but still so healthy!

What’s your favourite Mother’s Day breakfast? I’d love to hear from you!

If you are interested in finding out my families top 10 breakfast recipes then sign up for a copy of my free breakfast ebook here.

Bren x

As outlined in my Big Batch Bircher Muesli post, Swiss nutritionist, Dr. Bircher-Brenner was the inventor of Bircher Muesli and believed that the raw, natural ingredients were essential to health and healing. The grated apple in the muesli, for example, is choc-full of awesome vitamins and minerals, not to mention adding some chopped seasonally fresh fruit on top for a nutritious sensation! I’m not overselling it, you’ll see …

The deliciously sweet and chewy dates kind of melt into the mixture overnight. They are easily digested and contain lots of fibre and nutritional goodness which protect our eyes, skin and mucus membranes, and from certain types of cancer. The crunchy walnuts soften in the mixture overnight, and add a lovely subtle texture to the bircher once soaked.

In a nutshell (pun intended), the Omega 3s found in walnuts help us in all sorts of ways, such as protecting against heart disease and cancer, and even mental illness.

Bircher is a perfect way to start the day, makes a great snack, and is perfect for the kids to take to school.

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my popular ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes. It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and take the guess work out of what delicious, healthy food to pack your kids for lunch!

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rolled Oats
Walnuts
Medjool Dates
Cinnamon

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

Some other breakfast recipes you might like are Brenda’s Breaky Balls and My Favourite Homemade Granola.

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Her vision is to identify healthy food choices for her clients and be the ultimate wingman on their journey.

The recipes Penni creates are just wonderful and I’m so pleased to be able to share with you this glorious cake full of goodness which she created.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Gluten free Chocolate, Apple and Chia Cake

Number of Serves: 20
Serve Weight: 77g

Ingredients

4 medium apples
1 cup of brown rice flour
3 tb of chia seeds
½ cup of cacao powder
2 tsp of baking powder
¼ cup of almond meal
4 eggs
175g of honey
½ cup of coconut oil
Vanilla pod scraped or essence

Icing

100g of Dates
1 tb of Cacao Powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 deg
Grease and line a 20×20 cm cake pan
Grate the apples into a mixing bowl
Add the dry ingredients, mixing through
Crack eggs into another bowl and add the honey, vanilla and oil, mixing together
Pour the egg mix into the flour mix and stir well to combine
Pour into the prepared cake pan and let the mixture stand for ten minutes before placing into the oven
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or till a skewer comes out clean
To prepare the icing, simmer dates in 100ml of water till soft, approx 10-15 minutes
Add more water if becoming dry
Cool briefly, then blend till smooth
Add the cocoa powder and mix through, again adding water if too thick
Ice the cooled cake

Tip: The ‘icing’ makes for a delish dip with fresh strawberries or with whole walnut sandwiches, especially if some orange zest is added

‘Penni operates A Method of Cookery, a nutrition and wellness consultancy with a vision of providing healthy food choices for the rising dietary concerns people face today. As a qualified chef she applies cookery theory to sound nutrition principals and develops recipes and menu plans for long term sustainable change. To support the daunting journey of dietary change, Penni also offers nutrition & wellness coaching. She is a mum to three small children (5,3 & 20mth) and fully understands the ‘what’s for dinner?’ dilemma, weight management concerns and all the guff that come with grown up life. This recipe was developed for the many clients facing gluten exclusion and to prove to her sceptical husband, that gluten free can be delicious’

Check out Penni’s website here and Facebook page here