Kid Friendly Eats: Banana and Apricot Muesli Bars

We have been on the hunt lately for some alternative breakfast options for our little man who has all of a sudden decided his usual breakfast porridge will not do, eggs aren’t an option and toast is just plain boring! He is at the age now where he likes to be in control and finger foods are favoured.

Given that grains are fantastic for the little people, bring a great source of starch (complex carbohydrates for energy), protein, fibre (for a healthy digestive system), B group vitamins, vitamin E, iron, magnesium, zinc and phosphorous, I still wanted him to get his daily dose of oats. The key has been to package them differently!

These muesli bars are delicious, nutritious and fun! We serve them to our little guy for brekkie with a cup of milk, or take them along on outings for snacks. They are also a fantastic source of fuel for a mama on the run!

We keep ours nut free on account of our little man’s allergy, however they are delicious with some flaked almond or chopped up hazelnuts too. They use banana to bind them together which gives them a lovely sweetness, along with the dried fruit. We do add honey to ours but you can choose to omit the honey if you like and I am sure you will find they are still plenty sweet enough.

Best of all they are free of all those nasties you find in the shop bought kind!

The bars will keep in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 5 days and they do freeze well.

3 cups whole oats
2/3 cup sultanas
2/3 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
3 ripe bananas, mashed

1. Preheat your oven to 160. Lightly grease and line with baking paper a slice tin that measures 3.5cm deep.

2. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Spoon into the baking tin and press the mixture down lightly until it is even.

3. Bake in the oven until it is slightly golden. Allow to cool completely in the pan before attempting to cut it into bars, else it will crumble.