Starting the new year with nutty apple, cinnamon and seed bars

Happy New Year!

I decided to make the first post of the year a healthy one to kick start everyones year. I came up with these snack squares the other day, a recipe that I plan to use often for a snack for school. I call them 'Nutty apple, cinnamon and seed bars', a little long but very accurate as they show how much nutrition is in them! They disappeared pretty fast as my dad took a bunch to work, although he found them a little too 'healthy'. If you are looking for a treat then these are not that; they are hardly sweet, only from the apple and cinnamon, and are packed with protein from the nuts and seed; but they also have a nice crumbly light texture. The ingredients list may seem long but they are mostly things that you probably have at hand.

Nutty Cinnamon apple and seed bars - gluten, dairy, egg, soy, added sugar free
makes about 16 squares

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup smooth white almond butter

1 cup millet flakes

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/2 chopped almonds

1/2 cups ground flaxseeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 small/medium apples, cored, peeled and grated

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

Combine the millet flakes, ground and chopped almonds, seeds, flaxseeds and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix together all other ingredients. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and combine well. Transfer to a greased and lined 9-inch square baking pan, press down and baked for about 55 - 60 minutes or until firm and browned on top. Leave to cool in the pan, then cut into squares and serve.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

If you have a sweet tooth you could add some honey/maple syrup to the recipe and some raisins would also be delicious. This recipe can be altered to your taste and here are some ideas on how to serve it:

- Warmed, sliced in half and spread with honey

- Warmed sliced in half and topped with a fried egg

- Sliced in half, spread with nut butter and topped with banana slices

- Crumbled over stewed apples and warmed

- Crumbled and stirred into soy yoghurt, honey and berries.

With love,

Teenie Foodie