Blizzard Bars - Snow Day Fun with Kids!

Is it snowing where you are? We're in the midst of Snowmageddon (Winter Storm Juno) and here in NYC there were crazy lines at the grocery stores last night and this morning as people prepared to hunker down while Mother Nature dumps 20+ inches of snow on the city. I know this because I was one of those line-standing people. Basically, we walked into the grocery store, got online at the entrance and shopped while we waited in the queue. My kids thought it was hilarious. I stocked up on things like clementines and chicken, bread, milk and eggs. My third grader had school as usual today (it's canceled tomorrow). My preschooler's school was canceled today and tomorrow (and my 2 year old doesn't go to school). My two younger kids and I went out in the snow before it got crazy outside. After getting home, we got into bathing suits and pretended it was summer. We read books, colored, built a fort, played on the iPad and I cut and prepped every vegetable in my fridge. Then I looked at the clock and it was 2:46 pm.

The day was long. It'll be even longer tomorrow. 

Tomorrow, we're making Blizzard Bars (aka Banana Oatmeal Bars). These are a household staple. It'll be great not just to pass the time with a fun cooking activity, but also to have a delicious, tasty snack on the ready. I may even add chocolate chips to the recipe. Because, Blizzard. This is going to be a super snow day activity, and if you have these four ingredients in your house -- ripe bananas, rolled oats, salt and vanilla extract -- you can make Blizzard Bars too! It's simple to make with really young kids, it's delicious and healthful, and with just four ingredients, you likely won't have to endure long grocery lines to make it a reality. Best part: you can take them to go when you bundle up to go sledding! 

Wishing you all the best in your quest to stay warm and entertained! 

Banana Oatmeal Bars

3 super ripe (aka brown) bananas

2 cups of rolled oats (not instant)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

Optional: 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or raisins or dried cranberries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 dish with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas until they are smooth.

3. Add the oats and mix to combine.

4. Add the vanilla extract and salt (and optional add-ins if you're using) and mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

5. Pour into baking dish. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy.

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Banana Oatmeal Bars: A Fast, Easy, Healthy Breakfast

'Tis the season to be hectic. 
I don't know about you, but amid all of the awesomeness of the holiday season, I'm just pooped. Truth be told, my husband and I are relieved when the kids want cereal with milk and a banana or toast with a banana for breakfast these days. My kiddos choose their breakfasts and lunches in advance, which certainly makes things easier for me because I don't have the added stress of thinking about what to serve (let alone dealing with an argument about it). That said, I still have to prepare and serve those meals and unfortunately, there are no holiday fairies that take care of that for me. 

It's times like these that make Banana Oatmeal Bars so very amazing. 

These things are so easy to make, my kids do it themselves now, which frankly is one of the greatest holiday gifts ever. One batch makes 9 bars in our house – but it can make 16 more if you cut them smaller. My kids generally eat two apiece with breakfast. With just four ingredients, they're simple to prepare, quick to serve, and full of healthy goodness. Trifecta! In fact, putting two of these on a plate with some fruit is even easier than serving a bowl of cereal with milk. These bars also make for wonderful snacks! They're dairy free, gluten free, vegan and naturally sweet thanks to those super ripe bananas. 

Download the image below and add it to your LaLa Breakfast Food Library and/or your LaLa Lunchbox Food Library so that your mornings are just a teensy bit easier. Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have about that. 

Banana Oatmeal Bars

3 super ripe (aka brown) bananas
2 cups of rolled oats (not instant)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
* optional: 1/2 cup of one of these: dried cranberries, raisins, nuts, pumpkin seeds or chocolate chips

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 dish with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas until they are smooth.
3. Add the oats and mix to combine.
4. Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
5. Pour into baking dish. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy.

Here are some other recipes you might like: 
Banana Sweet Potato Muffins
Banjo Muffins
Oatmeal Muffins
Banana Pancake Kebabs
 

Let's keep in touch! Follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter to see what we're up to! 

Banana Oatmeal Bars: Breakfast, made simpler.

I'm a morning person. To me, that means I get up and have energy, even on nights when I get less than 6 hours of sleep. Stressful mornings drive me up a wall. But realistically, there are so many moving parts in a house with three kids in two different schools and while I understand how hard it is to get everyone up and at 'em, I keep wondering what we can do to make the mornings a little easier on everyone. Breakfast is the one meal that my family has where we are all reliably together. As a gal who grew up on family dinners but can't yet get it together to make that happen with my family of five, I rely on breakfast as our time to connect. The food needs to be ready quickly so that we maximize our time at the table. 

Experts say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It needs to be healthy and balanced so that kids make it to lunch. I've said it before: to make life easier on busy parents, breakfast likely needs to be assembled at least in part, the night before (and of course, chosen in advance). Voila! These Banana Oatmeal bars fit the bill. In a nutshell, it’s like making oatmeal with bananas. Only you do it in advance. And there’s no messy pot to clean. And it’s super easy, with just four ingredients, absolutely yummy, and a very healthy meal.

I have seen various iterations for bars like these. Many have seeds or nuts or raisins or dried fruit and those are certainly great options or additions. I’ve tinkered with several recipes to create this one that my family devours - and it's a straightforward recipe to make with kids. I love that it doesn’t require elaborate steps or ingredients or even things like flour, eggs or milk. There are four ingredients! This is nut free, dairy free and vegan and has great fiber, potassium and protein. There is zero added sugar. And for those mornings when we’re literally running out the door with part of breakfast tucked into a paper towel, these really come in handy. They also double as a fantastic mid-day snack for parents and kids alike. 

Will these eliminate your morning stress? No. But they may lighten the load, and that can make all the difference.  

Banana Oatmeal Bars

3 super ripe (aka brown) bananas

2 cups of rolled oats (not instant)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 dish with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas until they are smooth.

3. Add the oats and mix to combine.

4. Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

5. Pour into baking dish. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy.

Here are some other recipes you might like: 
Guide to Safe, Nut-Free Lunches
Banana Sweet Potato Muffins
Banjo Muffins
Banana Pancake Kebabs
Carrot Soup with Ginger and Sweet Potato

Let's keep in touch! Follow us on Instagram,Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter to see what we're up to! 

Oatmeal-Carrot Griddle Cakes

We eat a ton of oats and oatmeal in my house (literally, my infant eats oatmeal *every* morning. I kind of wonder if she's able to differentiate between day and night solely because oatmeal comes reliably at 7:15 every morning.) Last night I made braised chicken with steel cut oats and chard from Mark Bittman's Food Matters cookbook, which I absolutely love. I've made it before but not for a while and as expected, it was gobbled up. 

Well, actually, my 3 year old requested that the "green parts get taken out." And my 7 year old hand-picked out the onions somehow. But they ate the rest with pleasure. My infant? She devoured it! Extra thumbs up for a dish that everyone eats!

While I had the book open I flipped to another one of my faves: oatmeal griddle cakes. I've been on a carrot kick lately so I made a batch of these pancakes and added shredded carrots. I made them egg free and dairy free by using soy milk instead of cow's milk and cooked them in Earth's Balance instead of butter so that my infant could taste them as well. I want my kids to know what's in their food and develop confidence around their own taste preferences, so I don't want to hide the fact that I added carrots to their morning pancakes. Frankly, while I see the merit in adding vegetables to certain recipes (like this one or this one) or other dishes where healthful ingredients might not otherwise be expected (like this one), I am never okay with not being truthful about it.  

So today when my babysitter arrived and my son happily declared that he got oatmeal carrot pancakes for breakfast today, well, I felt proud as a peacock. 

Here's the adapted recipe for Mark Bittman's Oatmeal Griddle Cakes:  

Oatmeal-Carrot Griddle Cakes

1 teaspoon flax meal
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup soy milk
1 1/4 cups cooked oatmeal (I used Bob's Red Mill rolled oats)
2 carrots, finely shredded
Earth Balance for frying

In a small bowl, mix the flax meal with water and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. 
Gently incorporate the soy milk and cooked oatmeal into the dry mixture. 
Add the flax/water to the bowl. 
Mix in the carrot. Batter should be a bit pasty. 
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add Earth Balance (I used 1/2 tablespoon for each set of fist-sized pancakes)
Flip the pancakes when small holes or bubbles appear on the top (approximately 2-3 minutes per side).

** These griddle cakes are great for breakfast and can also be used as mini sandwich bread substitutes for a fun change of pace. 

Off-Label Breakfast Usage

Oatmeal with Peeled Snacks Cinnamon Crunch

We're in an oatmeal phase chez moi. Specifically we are digging quick cooking rolled oats and we like it dry and lumpy as opposed to smooth and creamy (I realize that some folks think this is nuts.) I use just enough water to cover the oats, stir twice and it cooks in minutes. I'm so happy about this phase because making just one breakfast makes mornings a tad easier. Everyone eats the same thing with minor differences: My husband and I like it with cinnamon and nutmeg, my daughter likes it with a splash of agave and fresh apple slices; my son likes it with a dash of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup and fruit on the side. He gets particularly excited to pour his own cinnamon. It's heart health month and according to health magazine, oatmeal is one of the top ten best foods for a healthy heart and is said to lower LDL cholesterol. Besides that, it's loaded omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, potassium and folate. An awesome way to start the day.  

This morning I went a little off the beaten path. I stirred a handful of Peeled Snacks Cinnamon Crunch into the oatmeal (after it had finished cooking) and reserved a few to adorn the top. Cinnamon Crunch is one of the three Apple Clusters snacks that Peeled Snacks describes as "diced organic apple pieces, rolled into tasty clusters for a new crunchy snack bursting with natural flavor." Great texture without refined sugar and a fun, non-traditional addition to our morning. My son, initially outraged that there was no maple syrup on his oatmeal, quickly became excited by this crunchy addition to his breakfast.