It’s running season in Dubai. During the cooler part of the year every weekend there is some interesting sporting event (the world parachuting championships is in a few weeks – you wont see me jumping out of a plane!), and usually also a run whether it’s a charity walk, a night run, the marathon for the hard core (a lot of admiration for these slightly insane people), or a running relay through the mountains.
On Friday (here our weekends are Friday and Saturday) I ran in a 10km ladies run on the Palm Jumeirah. This has been my mini project for the last 10 weeks and I joined a fab running group to help motivate me. I am not a keen runner (I prefer to walk), but I do like a sporting challenge, and it’s been while between competitions (I was cooking a couple of little people in the meantime).
So I survived and thought I should post a recipe that I could categorise as Nutritious. I have been making these muesli bars in copious quantities since I found the recipe. The boxed ones at the store are ok (but I know they have too much sugar and salt) but the range is very limited and the amounts that my son likes to consume makes for a costly shopping trolley. He is not a huge breakfast person but since introducing these oat packed bars I am happy he has his share of morning nutrition. I don’t indulge too much with kids treats but if it’s home made I feel that it’s ok to have a cake in the house or some fresh baked cookies.
The introduction of this new staple food in our house has also been a way for my husband to stave off the 9am hunger monster and save his lunch for actual ‘lunch time’. Because it’s full of oats and seeds, it has all the good fats and energy that should keep you satisfied for longer. In my case I have been hoping they are contributing to my fitness / training and will eventually help to get me over the finish line of my race! I did, so it must have worked!
I have made these in many different varieties, the beauty of them is that you can add whatever goodness you choose – the dried fruit aspect I think makes them more appealing for children and you can easily substitute the nuts for more seeds or dried fruit. You can also choose dried fruit that doesn’t require chopping so it makes the recipe a simple pour, mix and bake process, so there’s no excuse of not having the culinary skills or time to make them (just the 1 hour for baking )
The original inspiration for the recipe came from one of Bill Granger’s books and it falls in the chapter ‘Breakfast on the Run’. I am a big fan of breakfast so these bars make a perfect midmorning snack for me. But if you are not good with food first thing, then this should help get you started in the mornings.
Back to the run; it was hot and hilly and I a) finished in one piece and b) almost reached my target time, so I’m thrilled and the bars must have helped! So much so I have signed up for another 10km race in January, I want to beat my time! I think I have a lot of bars to bake!!
Muesli Bars
Preheat the oven to 130 degrees (I have 150 degrees with my gas oven)
You will need a brownie tin or similar appox 35cm x 25cm lined with baking paper
Dry Ingredient Mix
3 ½ cups of oats (I used quick cooking, the large rolled oats are pricey here)
½ cup powdered coconut (finer than shredded, but use if you prefer)
½ cup oatbran (if not just substitute with more oats)
½ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup ground flax seeds (linseed), optional
¼ cup raisins or sultanas
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup dried apricots (sliced or sniped with scissors)
Combine the dry mix in a bowl
Wet Ingredient Mix
¾ cup honey
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil (I use light olive oil, grapeseed is also very good)
Put the wet mix in a small saucepan on a low heat stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour the wet mix into the bowl with the dry mix and combine. It will seem quite dry at first, I use my hands.
- Tip into pan and press firmly until evenly spread (I had a good helper!)
- Bake for about 50 – 60 min until golden brown. Take out of oven and cool slightly (if you take out of tin while hot it will fall apart), then cut into pieces with a big sharp knife. As it cools the bars will become quite firm.
P.S – The dry ingredient mix would be a fantastic muesli mix to have for breakfast with milk and yoghurt. For bircher muesli (a family favourite), soak the mix in some apple juice or sparkling apple juice overnight and serve with yoghurt – another good breakfast to have when you get to work.
