Breakfast Bars and a Blueberry Yogurt Shake
By Kim Morgan • Aug 26th, 2009 • Category: Bread
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Today is the first day of school for my grandson. Wanting to make an easy eat and run nourishing treat for a growing boy- led me to this recipe for Dried-Fruit and Nut Health Bars.
A few changes to give it a Southern spin were easy in adapting this recipe, inspired by Martha Stewart. You could easily substitute your favorite ingredients in making these great chewy bars. Perfect for on the go.
I recently found our yogurt maker, gave it a good refurbishing and it has churned out batch after batch of great yogurt. We blended some blueberries, yogurt, honey, orange juice and crushed ice to make this creamy shake for breakfast.
I suspect that these bars will travel well, so a huge batch is headed out to Alaska for my daughter D and two boys. They are active, on the go and sure to enjoy these energy laden treats.
Dried Fruit and Nut Breakfast Bars
Adapted- Martha Stewart Living Magazine
1 cup pitted dates
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped coarsely
½ cup additional nut of your choice or add more pecans
1/3 dried pineapple
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/3 cup raisons
2 tablespoons oat bran
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1/3 cup stone ground cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons local honey
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place dates in a small saucepan and almost cover with cool water. Bring to a simmer and let cool. Puree in a food processor till almost smooth.
Coat an 8″ baking pan with canola or vegetable oil.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the date puree and honey, and mix till dry ingredients are coated. Press the mixture flat in the pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden. Let cool on a wire rack in pan. Then turn out and cut into 16 bars. Wrap in parchment paper and store in a cool place.
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Kim Morgan is the aspiring writer, photographer & passionate cook of ayankeeinasouthernkitchen.com; she is currently cooking Southern food, one stick of butter at a time.
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A great way to have breakfast! Healthy and delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
These bars look great – I love all the dried fruit!
Everything you make Kim has that special touch! I love, love, LOVE, the paper and twine. What a gorgeous presentation and a mouth watering treat! {{{hugs}}}
Those bars would be perfect for Ben!
Once the semester gets underway and my sleep debt mounts, I’m going to be scrambling for breakfasts I can eat on the run. This looks like a good candidate.
Beautiful Kim, I wish my kids weren’t so picky and would eat those!
Those bars look so good! I wish I had the right things in my pantry to bake them today.
These healthy bars look delicious and perfect for a snack as well as a breakfast bar. Love all the dried fruit!
Thanks mom! We are looking forward to our delivery!
Those breakfast bars are stunning! Forget my kids eating them, I need to eat them each morning along with a fresh blueberry shake. Seriously, the health bars look fresh, healthy and delicious! Your grand kids are very lucky!
The flavor and texture of these bars are very good, but my bars did not hold their shape. They crumbled apart like chunky granola. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to drain the dates before pureeing, so I did, but then added a small amount of orange juice and all of the honey as I was pureeing to cut the very thick consistency. I’ll definitely make these again, but I’m going to invest in a Calphalon Dessert Bar pan (about $18 at Target) for ease in preparing portions. Thanks for a great recipe and I’m glad I found your site!
You make the prettiest things! Normally I would have no interest in a recipe for healthy breakfast bars but you do have a gift for making food look appealing. Now I’m going to give them some thought…