Receta Detox January, Week 1: Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Peanut butter-oatmeal breakfast bars
"Mocktail Hour" with a virgin Bloody Mary is not quite the same as the real deal with a chartreuse vodka gimlet, but hey ... otherwise Detox January is not bad at all.
(Sidebar: Except for the annual mob scene at the gym. But I'm not worried: the resolution-breakers will be gone by the end of February. Cynical? Yes. But it's true.)
Take, for instance, these breakfast / snack bars. Wicked, wicked good! And no baking involved -- just some melting. And everyone can find time for a little melting.
Regular readers will recall that I am always on the hunt for good make-ahead, grab-and-go breakfast recipes. I think this one may be the best one yet: sweet yet salty, chewy yet crunchy. Perfecto!
Honestly.
Ninjas don't lie.
At least I don't think so.
These bars are definitely kid-friendly, too -- unless your kid has a peanut allergy. Then I guess they would be Death Bars. But I shall leave it to you to use your parental judgement.
So let's get melting.
Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Breakfast Bars (from Cuisine at Home magazine)
Cautionary note: Beware store-brand cereal. One of the reasons many of them are cheaper in price is because they use high-fructose corn syrup rather than real sugar. I only discovered this recently and was quite dismayed.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup raw almonds (original recipe calls for whole, but I think slivered would work well, too)
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup Rice Krispies (no HFCS)
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries or cranberries
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When heated, spread the oats and almonds on a baking tray and toast for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. (Honestly I think you could even skip this step.)
Heat peanut butter, honey and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until peanut butter melts.
Combine the peanut butter mixture, the oat/almond mixture and all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to coat. Press the mixture into a greased 8 x 8 baking pan and chill until firm (about 15 minutes).
Cut into 9 (breakfast size) or 12 (snack size) bars and wrap in plastic wrap.