Readers, like most of you I’ve approached 2015 with renewed
vigour and a need to kickstart my healthy eating again. I’ve realised it’s about everything in moderation. There’s no point in starving yourself to look
good if you are constantly miserable.
My whole thing is exercise. Like
the majority of the population, a demanding desk based job means I’m not active
through the day and am struggling to fit it in around everything else going on.
I’m making a point though of cutting the alcohol, watching
what I eat, enjoying treats in moderation and doing a bit more exercise. I’ve managed the gym once and a hour’s
swimming this weekend, so here’s hoping I keep it up.
As it’s the start of a health kick, I had a look into
healthy bakes. Turns out there’s loads
of them over on Pinterest. I wanted
something I could make with cupboard ingredients, that wasn’t laden with fat
and sugar and came across these oat flapjacks on DieticianUK.
I’ve amended this wonderful recipe slightly to suit what I
had in the cupboard. On first bite they
were a shock to the system – we are used to flapjacks being syrupy and
sugary. These are much less sweet, but I
suppose you could up the honey content slightly if you can’t quite kick the
habit! I at least feel these are filling
– the oats are a source of slow energy release, so you shouldn’t crash and burn
on them. The dried fruit and nut
filling is also a source of energy and protein, whilst the banana binding helps
with those potassium levels.
This recipe is also great for special diets – it’s dairy
free, egg free and if you used gluten free oats, could be gluten free as well.
I’m hoping to make more recipes from the site in future
which I’ll share with you all.
Healthy Fruit and Seed Flapjacks
Recipe adapted from DieticianUK
Ingredients (makes 12 pieces)
200g porridge oats
120g dried fruit of your choice
20g seeds of your choice (I used one of my Graze snack boxes)
2 mashed bananas (ripe)
1 tablespoon clear honey (warmed)
3 dessert spoons sunflower oil
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190c/170c fan. Line a 20cm x 20cm silicone traybake tin.
4. Add the sunflower oil, mashed banana and honey
to the oat, fruit and seed mix until it all comes together.
5. Press the mixture into your tin and flatten.
6. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove and cover with a tin
foil top to prevent burning.
7. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes,
then remove from oven. Turn onto a cooling
8. Slice when cool and store in an airtight container
for up to 3 days.
I'm linking this recipe up to #recipeoftheweek over at A Mummy Too
I'm also adding it to this month's #TreatPetite hosted by Cakey Boi with the theme of healthy baking.
These sound delicious! Love the added banana #recipeoftheweek
ReplyDeleteThanks Hayley. Easy to make with store cupboard ingredients as well #recipeoftheweek
DeleteI could just eat one of these now, they look so tasty
ReplyDeleteThank you Alison. Very easy to make as well!
DeleteLovely Claire! I could do with these pre-run to give me loads of energy. Thanks for taking part in Treat Petite.
ReplyDeleteThanks Stuart! They take hardly any time to make.
DeleteI have been looking for a good flapjack recipe to try out in my kitchen, I might just have to try these ones. It's an added bonus that they are healthier then other bakes!! :0)
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa - once you get used to the lack of sweetness they are lovely. I found them to be a really filling snack.
DeleteLooks good but why will they only keep for 3 days?
ReplyDeleteHello, as mashed banana is the binding ingredient and there's no added sugar to preserve the bake, I wouldn't recommend keeping any longer than this unless you are freezing and defrosting. Thanks for your comment.
DeleteHi, great recipe, but 30 minutes seems quite a long time for flapjacks. It's normally 15-20 mins at about this temperature. Can you confirm please? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for getting in touch. Because banana is used as a binding ingredient I cooked it out a bit longer. If you are concerned about burning, pop some tinfoil on the top after 15 minutes and cook for another 5-10 minutes. A little less cooking time won't do any harm. I did these in a fan assisted oven and 25 minutes with a tinfoil top didn't burn. Good luck!
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