Sometimes what you name your food determines your child’s excitement level, and this was certainly true this morning when I poured the breakfast bar batter into a pie pan and dubbed this the Granola Bar Pie. Try getting creative with food terminology and see how your toddler responds.
The bars (or pie wedges) are very portable once cool, maintaining enough moisture to not crumble in the car on the way to preschool. My kid has always been a night owl, and getting her up and ready to leave the house by 8:30 twice a week is damn difficult sometimes. THE most time consuming part of our morning is always breakfast because Ella loves to eat, and she likes to take her time doing it. No kidding, a small bowl of yogurt takes 30 minutes to consume sometimes. I’m completely thrilled that she’s a good eater and want to avoid rushing her meals or making them a source of stress at all costs. Keeping a portable breakfast food around, and remembering it’s okay to brush her teeth in the car (it’s not like the toothpaste I give her is harmful if swallowed, so why not?) is really helpful. She thinks brushing her teeth in the car is hilariously silly and likes that her car seat can occasionally be the dentist chair as well.
Granola Bar Pie/Oatmeal Pecan Breakfast Bars
vegan and gluten free, contains no refined sugar
1 1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup ground pecans
1/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 t. ground ginger
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1/4 t. sea salt
1 T. flax meal (ground flax seeds)
1/2 T. salba or chia seeds
1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
1/2 T. vanilla extract
1 T. maple syrup
2 frozen bananas, thawed, mashed
1/4 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 375 F. Allow frozen bananas to thaw in a bowl on the stove (especially if your oven exhaust fan pushes all the hot air onto your stove-top like mine does), or place in the oven for a few minutes as it starts to preheat, or thaw in the microwave for 30-45 seconds.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add almond milk, vanilla, maple syrup and thawed bananas, mix well. Stir in raisins. Butter a pie pan (or use coconut oil) and pour batter into pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes until firm. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing into 8 wedges.
Inspired by: Banana Raisin Oatmeal Bars from Quinoa, Kale & Exhale
Raised from Scratch 