[ladybugnessa]

this with a hard boiled egg is a fast grab and go breakfast

this is 3 servings 2 bars per serving.

preheat the oven to 350

spray and 8x8 pan with cooking spray like pam

mix
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup DRY milk powder (non-fat milk)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce or mashed RIPE bananas or combo of the two
add 1 teaspoon baking powder
add 1 teaspoon (or more) of cinnamon
add as desired or needed:
sweetner (splenda works or sf syrups such as vanilla or caramel)
cut up dried fruit
chopped nuts

pour (glop really) into the pan
bake for about 22 minutes till the edges brown and come away from the pan
let cool.
remove from pan
cut into six bars 2 bars per serving
bag into individual servings and refidgerate

[cottagebythesea]

YUM, these are really good! Thanks, Nessa!

I did make a couple of adjustments, though. I used NSA chunky applesauce, and also added 1 1/2 Tbsp. flaxmeal, NSA dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, and about 1/2 cup of walnuts. Oh, and I used SF caramel syrup for the sweetener.

[tomandkara]

Where did you find no sugar added dried cranberries?

Kara

[tomandkara]

Oh, forgot to say that I didn't add any sweetener to mine and they were fine. The fruit was sweet enough.

Next time I'm going to try dried apricots with macadamia nuts, dried figs with walnuts, and golden raisins and dried cherries with almonds. If I can find unsweetened dried cranberries, I'll use those with walnuts.

I can see this is going to be a recipe that sticks around for awhile! Good thing I could only find a mondo container of dry milk!!! I think I'm going to use it all.

Kara

[cottagebythesea]

Kara, I really like Organic Eden Dried Cranberries, sweetened with organic apple juice. They're still high in natural sugars - 25 grams - but it's better than being sweetened with real sugar like most dried cranberries are. Whole Foods also carries an unsweetened cranberry, no sugars at all, but they are pretty dry and sometimes even crunchy.

[tomandkara]

OK, chickies. Entered the basic recipe into fitday and got this:

632 total calories, 6 g fat, 124 g carbs, 27 g protein

So if you have three servings per batch, then each serving is roughly:

210 calories, 2 g fat, 41 g carbs, and 9 g protein

Keep in mind that as you add dried fruits and nuts, the nutritional info will change.

Kara

Edited to say that I used half a cup of mashed banana (HA! Every time I say "mashed banana" I think of that Harry Chapin song!) and half a cup of unsweetened applesauce.

[zeffryn]

Alright, another variation on these:

I made the general recipe, put half in the pan - pressed it down like a crust and then put a layer of nsa jam (you could also use a homemade compote or something), then put the rest of the "batter" on top without pressing it down. Yum! These are so versatile!

[262mom2three]

Originally Posted by Ruthxxx

Just cut them into smaller pieces in the pan, like brownie size. The batter is a bit wet for cookies but you could add more oatmeal to make it into a dough. Then you could form it into cookies and bake.

Thank you! Wow...That was a fast response! I actually just saw KO's suggestion of making them in a muffin pan...that might work, too. Or thickening with more oatmeal. I am off to make them now.

ETA: I made these as cookies for my kids. Baked 350 for 10 minutes. I used 1 small banana, 1/2c unsw applesauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, and some craisins, as well as either 2/3c or 1c (I cannot remember...it was just to the desired consistency) additional oatmeal. The batch made 24 small cookies. 2 out of my three kids, my pickiest included, liked them and went back for seconds! YAY!!

Thanks for the recipe. Looking forward to trying the bars when I hit Ph2!!

[Natasha1534]

Finally got around to making these tonight. I used NSA apricots and almonds. YUM!!! I seriously didn't think I was going to like them that much b/c I am SO not a fan of baked fruit...but it's really yummy.

[Natasha1534]

Okay, I just have to tell you that these are now a fave at my house. My 18 year old nephew wanted me to make him a whole pan (double batch, mind you) to take to school w/ him to snack on. He gave one to a friend of his and he laughed telling me about the look on his friend's face like he thought we had made some amazing discovery, LOL

I currently have, no lie, like my 10th double batch in the oven since I started making these. I picked up some NSA papaya today and threw them in w/ some almonds. The second batch has some raspberry and creme granola thrown in. I'm sure I'll have to make another batch of chocolate chip and almonds b/c those seem to be everybody's fave. I make double batches and slice them into about 18 pieces instead of 12. LOVE THESE!!! Thanks so much for the recipe!!!

***EDIT*** Adding a picture just so you can see...

[EmmaD]

I finally tried these. (Great visual, Natasha!) Really good.

But I also had the idea of using protein powder on my mind, based on the Breakfast Cookie, so I made mine with unsweetened vanilla protein powder instead of the milk powder. I had to add some almond milk as the protein powder made a really, really dry mix.

Other than that, I followed the recipe. I used 1/2 applesauce and 1/2 smashed banana and sweetened with PureVia. I added slivered almonds and dark raisins, 'cause that's what I had lying around. I baked them in muffin tins -- 12 muffins total; 2 muffins = 1 serving, which I think is HALF of what the original recipe says. It was a lot anyway.

The stats on my version with the protein powder, almond milk (1 cup), 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup raisins are:

Amount Per Serving
Calories 240.2
Total Fat 6.7 g
Saturated Fat 0.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.6 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 123.6 mg
Potassium 702.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 38.5 g
Dietary Fiber 6.2 g
Sugars 13.0 g
Protein 19.7 g
Vitamin A 2.1 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 10.5 %
Vitamin C 4.0 %
Vitamin D 4.2 %
Vitamin E 21.7 %
Calcium 15.7 %
Copper 31.6 %
Folate 13.6 %
Iron 27.0 %
Magnesium 22.9 %
Manganese 93.7 %
Niacin 5.6 %
Pantothenic Acid 4.7 %
Phosphorus 36.7 %
Riboflavin 9.7 %
Selenium 1.3 %
Thiamin 19.0 %
Zinc 14.5 %

[Natasha1534]

Had to make up 3 more double batches last night, LOL With 4 of us (sometimes 5, and at times up to 7 if the kids come stay for the weekend) in the house who like them, they go FAST!!! My favorite now is raspberry creme granola mixed in instead of nuts and fruit. OMG, heaven!!!

[Natasha1534]

Okay, so I've come up w/ another version that is frigging amazing. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, almonds, natural peanut butter, and unsweetened coconut flakes. OMG, they are THE BEST!!!

[jenne1017]

Mine were a bit too soft...I didn't have baking powder so maybe that is it? Here's what I used:

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup DRY milk powder (non-fat milk)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
dash real vanilla extract
handful of chopped walnuts
freeze-dried strawberries
handful of carob chips (unsweetened)
small squeeze of agave

They were yummy though and totally filling

ETA: