Homemade Veggie Granola Bars

Whenever I get store bought granola bars, my kids are always excited to eat them. But with all the extra ingredients in those bars, I decided to make my own with simple nutritious ingredients for a much healthier treat for my kids.

This recipe is very simple and you can customize it however you want. I started by opening 6 individual packets of oatmeal (about 1 and a half cup of dry oatmeal) and spreading them out on a cookie sheet. I toasted them for a few minutes and then let them cool.

Next I pulled out my beloved Ninja food processor attachment (which came as a bundle with the full size blender and blender cups) and processed the dates until it formed a sticky ball, which I then transferred into a bowl,  and mixed with baby food puree, peanut butter and some maple syrup.

 My favorite part about this recipe is to try out different kinds of baby food purees. I generally use the vegetable and fruit blends such as carrot-banana-mango, etc to give it a little extra sweetness along with the veggie component. Once the wet mixture is fully combined, I added the toasted oats, mixed well and placed in a lightly greased pan to let the bars set in the fridge. The last thing to do is to cut into squares and enjoy.

 The dates add a great sweetness to it, and I love that it also has vegetables in it. This is great for breakfast or for an anytime healthy snack.

Homemade Veggie Granola Bars

6 pouches (or 1 and 1/2 cups) oats (toasted at 350F for 15min)

1 cup dates

1 pouch / 1 tub baby food

1/4 c peanut butter

1 Tbsp maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

Spread the oats on a cookie sheet and toast for 15 minutes at 350F. Set aside to cool.

Process the dates in a food processor until finely processed and it forms a sticky ball.

Mix the processed dates with the baby food pouch, peanut butter, and maple syrup until well combined. Mix in the toasted oats, place in a greased pan, and let it set in the fridge. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Here is a printable version of the recipe.

Pumpkin Puree Doughnuts

My kids are crazy about doughnuts. Every time we go grocery shopping, they always try to steer us in the direction of the doughnut display. Growing up my mom often made homemade doughnuts for us kids, so the concept of making your own doughnuts wasn't entirely new to me.

However, as with all my other recipes, I decided to find a way to add some kind of vegetable component into the food I make. Especially if it is one of the rare things my kids are going to eat, I might as well try to get some extra nutrients in it :)
In this recipe, I used some of the pumpkin puree I made several months ago, which I poured into ice cube trays and stored in the freezer. But you can use canned 100% pumpkin puree if that is what you have.

This recipe is fairly simple to put together. I started by mixing all the dry ingredients together, then I added the wet ingredients and kneaded the mixture until it formed a dough. I then, let the dough rest for about 20 minutes before shaping them into doughnuts.

I don't currently have a doughnut cutter so I had to take the harder approach of shaping my doughnuts by forming small balls of dough and piercing the middle with my fingers to make a hole in the center of the doughnuts, but if you have a doughnut cutter, then it will definitely save you a lot of time and your doughnuts will turn out a lot prettier than mine :)

Here is a picture of my assistant doughnut shaper hard at work :)

I placed the shaped doughnuts on a tray and let them rise for another 20 minutes or so before frying them in medium hot oil. Make sure your oil isn't too hot, otherwise the outside will turn dark much faster and the inside of the doughnuts would still be doughy and not completely cooked.

Once they are done cooking, you can do anything you want to decorate them such as sprinkling with some sugar, making a glaze, etc etc. I ended up leaving them plain and my kids spread on some nutella before eating them....talk about a yummy healthy-ish treat :p

Pumpkin Puree Doughnuts

2 and 1/4 c flour

1/4 c sugar

4 and 1/2 Tbsp powdered milk

1 Tbsp yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp softened butter

1/2 c pumpkin puree

3 to 3 and 1/2 Tbsp cold water

Mix together the flour, sugar, powdered milk, yeast, and salt in a bowl.

Add the butter, pumpkin puree and water, and knead until it forms a dough. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes, shape into doughnuts  with a doughnut cutter and let rise for another 20 minutes. Fry in medium hot oil until done, top with desired toppings (sugar, glaze, frosting, etc), and serve.

Here is a printable version of the recipe