Back when I was a supermarket dietitian I worked with a very talented dietitian named Kelli. Check out her Facebook page, as she posts daily recipes that are sure to make you drool. Recently one day at work I was perusing Facebook (yes, it’s true, I do that) and I spotted one of her recipes for “Peanut Butter Granola Bars”, which of course, made me drool. I printed the recipe, and made them the next day. Per usual I modified the recipe (which is what I do best) so that I could eat them (i.e.: I made half of them low FODMAPs) and Paige could eat them (i.e.: I omitted the salt, raisins and chocolate in half of them, and cooked them for less time so they were less crumbly). Today I’ll share with you the original recipe from Kelli, plus my modifications in the notes section.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cups
Ingredients
- -1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- -1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce *
- -1 tsp vanilla extract
- -1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey *
- -1/2 tsp salt
- -2¼ cups rolled oats (Gluten Free if needed)
- -1/4 cup chia seeds
- -1/3 cup raisins *
- -1/3 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
Instructions
- Spread the mixture into a sprayed 8×8 “brownie” size pan or divide evenly into 24 mini muffin tins. For the 8×8 bake at 325 for 17-18 minutes or until it has reached your preferred level of browning. For the mini muffin tins they only take about 10 minutes! Store in an airtight bag and place in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
* If you are following a low FODMAPs diet, use plain regular yogurt instead of applesauce. There will be lactose in this, but not enough to cause side effects for most people. Also, use maple syrup instead of honey. Lastly, omit the raisins (or just use them, as there probably aren’t enough in this recipe to cause side-effects. Raisins do contain high amounts of fructans, however).
For Baby: If you want to use this recipe for your young infant, omit the salt and the raisins. I also omitted the chocolate, but if your young one is older he/she may be able to handle the chocolate, just get dark chocolate with less sugar, and maybe melt it a bit so it’s soft (you could melt it and drizzle it on top!). I was a little worried about the oats and the chia, but Paige sort of sucks on them so they were soft and more likely to go down with ease. These bars will be best for an infant who has been doing BLW for at least a month or two, in my opinion. I also cooked them for a little less time so they were more chewy.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/24th of recipe Calories: 90 Fat: 3.5 g Carbohydrates: 13 g Sugar: 5.8 g Fiber: 1.4 g Protein: 2.4 g
I found that these bars (or..cups??) weren’t very sweet, yet they were the perfect little “sweet” snack for a mid-day craving. I even tried them without the maple syrup and they were still delicious! I’m starting to learn that I really don’t like sweet foods unless they are desserts. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love sweets, but for snacks and little treats throughout the day, I don’t like anything really sweet. For my nightly dessert? Bring on the sugar. My small dish of ice cream needs to be the real thing!
When Paige ate hers she sort of just sucked on it. I stayed close by because I was a little worried about the toasted oats. She’s been doing the baby led weaning for over a month now so I felt pretty good about it, but the oats were small and I felt a little trepid. As she sucked on the bars the oats and the chia got soggy and easier for her to handle.
Oh, and just a side note, little Paige is standing on her own (leaning against a toy) and getting more mobile everyday. It’s scary, yet so exciting. Look at those little feet! She’s seven months now and I’m already planning her 1-year birthday. I know I’m insane. I think I’m really just planning the cake (I’m obsessed with those one year cake photos).
I’ll be back soon with a Simple One-Pot Thai Chicken recipe. Have a great one!
