No Bake Granola Bars and July 4th Wrap-Up

Hoping you had a wonderful July 4th holiday and weekend! We had a wonderful four days of family time and fun. We were constantly busy as usual, but it was FUN busy. I just loved that I actually had time to cook up a storm of allergy-friendly recipes like our favorite tropical coconut banana muffins, dairy-free quesadillas, and a new recipe I've been wanting to try for no bake granola bars. YUM.

 

I got the recipe from The Food Allergy Chronicles blog, and the bars were REALLY yummy. They remind me of a cross between a rice krispy treat, and a chocolate oat granola bar. These granola bars are of course great because they're vegan and nut free, but also because they are NO BAKE granola bars.  It was so HOT this weekend that a no bake recipe was exactly what I needed.

I think our usual pumpkin granola bars (also vegan and nut free) will still be my go-to granola bar recipe, but the no bake granola bars are a great option for a quick, no bake option. They're similar to another no bake oat recipe we love for no bake oat balls.

We enjoyed the new allergy-friendly granola bars throughout the weekend, and also enjoyed fun at the pool...

Staying cool with big girl and big guy "shades"....

 Visiting with wonderful friends...

 

And exploring and playing....

What fun did you have this 4th of July?  Any new recipes or good eats?

SWEET Breakfast Plans

I have an allergy-friendly meal plan ready this week not for lunch or dinner, but for BREAKFAST! Usually breakfast is a quick throw-it together kind of meal that includes either a Sunbutter banana sandwich, warm oatmeal, vegan overnight oats, or allergy-friendly muffin with fruit on the side.

Why a breakfast meal plan?  Well, I'm inspired by this....

I was so happy to see a big box outside my door just FILLED with SWEETNESS!  Whoo hoo!  I actually won this box of goodies from Clean Eating Magazine. My recipe suggestion for one of their contests was a top pick, and this box of Wholesome Sweeteners was the prize! They're testing out the top recipes and the winner will be featured in Clean Eating Magazine. Fingers crossed!

The cool thing about this SWEET box is that it's full of wholesome sweeteners that are Fair Trade Certified and organic. I can do a TON of baking with all of these products, and spruce up our usual breakfasts and desserts with the fun flavored agave syrups. Here's some great info about the health benefits of agave if you've never tried it before.

I was also excited to see some allergy-friendly recipes on the back of the bags of organic sugar. I'll have to adapt the recipes a little for Little Guy's food allergies, but I'm excited for some new recipe inspiration.

Here's my allergy-friendly breakfast meal plan for the week. As you can see, oats are key to our breakfasts. We use these oats as a staple. Read the label every time to make sure the oats are safe for your family!:

Monday: Easy waffle with fruit and a Tbsp of vanilla agave syrup for dipping on the side.

Tuesday: Baked Oatmeal from Chockababy using the organic sugar I received. Fruit on the side.

Wednesday: Repeat of baked oatmeal from Tuesday. (Repeats are the key to my meal planning!)

Thursday: Gluten-free and nut-free granola. Notice the use of agave! Since it's 4th of July and we have a day off of work, I plan to eat this outside on our porch over yogurt! 

Friday: Gluten and nut-free granola mixed into warm oatmeal with a Tbsp of Sunbutter on top.

Here's a good illustration of my surprise and excitement to find this SWEET box at my doorstep. 

As Little Gal says, "OH" look at the box of goodies!

Wholesome Sweeteners make me happy. What a nice surprise!

Now let's play some frisbee!!

Any good ideas for recipes I can use for all this sweetness?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

My husband and I love Kashi granola bars as a snack or quick breakfast (plus a banana) on the go. However, I can't seem to find any nut, dairy, gluten and egg free granola bars for my son. Solution?  Make them myself!  I found the recipe for these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars here, and they're so tasty that I haven't tried any alternate recipes.  These bars are probably even better than store-bought granola bars since they're homemade, less processed, and include less "junk" than store-bought granola bars.

They may be more of a fall-time treat since they use pumpkin, but they're a staple at our house year-round.  They also freeze really well.  I just cut them into toddler size squares, wrap them in plastic wrap, and put them in a large ziplock bag to freeze.  I defrost one or two on the counter overnight, or even in the microwave if I need one quickly.  They taste great even after being frozen.

I found this recipe here. I stayed true to most of it, but made a few minor changes.

Here are the ingredients I used:

• 3 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten free oats
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup honey (agave nectar works too)
• 3 Tbsp oil (I used Smart Balance this time) **This is updated from my original post - you need 3!
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup Craisins

In one large bowl combine: oats, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In another bowl whisk together: brown sugar, pumpkin, honey, oil and vanilla extract.

Pour mixture over oats and stir well, then add chocolate chips and Craisins (other add-ins would work well too if you can eat them!  I'd love these with almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds or other dried fruit).

Line your 8x8 or 8x11 pan with parchment paper as I did, or spray it with oil or cooking spray.

Put your pan into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cut them however you like - in bar shape, squares, etc.

REALLY delicious!