Last week a friend suggested we take a deconstructed look at breakfast bars. As a working mother of two under four, her mornings are busy and rushed yet she wants to provide a healthy start to her kids’ day. One day in a pinch, she picked up a nationally recognized brand bar for the following morning’s breakfast. Ten minutes after eating the bar, her son was bouncing off the walls. That little self-proclaimed “health” bar, had turned a quiet morning into a wild, stress-filled kickoff to the day.
Aren’t school mornings challenging enough?
So that brings me to the question: When we need to turn to a quick, on-the-go breakfast for our kids, do we amp them up with a bar chock full of high fructose corn syrup or fuel them up with a whole grain, fruit-rich breakfast bar?
_________________________________________________________________________
THE COMPARISON: Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars Strawberry vs. Out of the Box Food Berry Breakfast Bars
(All ingredients followed by an * can be referenced at www.wikipedia.org by clicking on the ingredient)
_________________________________________________________________________
Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars Strawberry
Ingredients:
- Crust
- whole grain oats
- enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate* [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid)
- whole wheat flour
- soybean oil (with TBHQ* and citric acid for freshness)
- high fructose corn syrup*
- soluble corn fiber
- sugar
- calcium carbonate
- whey
- wheat bran
- salt
- cellulose*
- potassium bicarbonate*
- propylene glycol*
- mono- and diglycerides*
- soy lecithin*
- natural and artificial flavor*
- wheat gluten
- cornstarch
- niacinamide*
- vitamin A palmitate
- carrageenan*
- zinc oxide
- reduced iron
- guar gum*
- pyridoxine hydrochloride* (vitamin B6)
- thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin B1)
- riboflavin (vitamin B2)
- folic acid
- Filling:
- high fructose corn syrup*
- corn syrup*
- strawberry puree concentrate
- glycerin
- sugar
- water
- sodium alginate*
- modified corn starch
- citric acid
- natural and artificial flavor*
- sodium citrate
- dicalcium phosphate*
- methylcellulose*
- caramel color*
- malic acid*
- red #40*
It’s time for this week’s Find the Fruit game. What position does strawberry take in the ingredient list? Is it first? Nope, that position’s taken by high fructose corn syrup. Second? Wrong again, that spot is held by corn syrup (not to be mistaken with it’s predecessor high fructose corn syrup. Oh yes, there it is: third position! Is it whole fruit? Nope, strawberry puree concentrate. Hmmm…
**All listed product ingredients are taken from product’s package label. Though Out of the Box Food makes every effort to provide complete ingredient information, please check the package for the most current information.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Out of the Box Food Berry Breakfast Bars
SERVES: Makes 16, 2″x3″ bars
TIME: Prep- 15 min Cook – 35-40 min
SUPPLIES: 9″ x 13″ baking pan, medium sauce pan, parchment paper, plastic wrap
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 C whole wheat pastry flour (See PERFECT PANTRY STAPLES for where to buy)
- 1 C bread flour
- 1/2 C flaxseed meal (See PERFECT PANTRY STAPLES for where to buy)
- 1/3 C oat bran (optional for a “heartier” bar)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 C butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
- 1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/2 C brown sugar (lightly scooped, not packed)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg divided
- 24 oz frozen fruit (strawberries, blueberries, etc.)
- 2-4 tbsp cornstarch
Directions:
STEP 1:
- Heat frozen fruit in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stir occasionally.
- Cook for 15 minutes or until fruit begins to break down and thicken slightly.
- Whisk in cornstarch and continue to cook for additional five minutes.
- Remove from heat and transfer to heat proof bowl. Refrigerate until cool. (can be done up to two days before)
STEP 2:
MEANWHILE:
- In a large bowl whisk together flours, flaxseed meal, sea salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, (preferably bowl of mixer with paddle attachment) cream butter, sugar, applesauce and vanilla.
- Add whole egg and egg yolk. Blend. (save egg white for later use)
- Slowly add dry mixture to wet and blend to combine.
- Cut two pieces of plastic wrap (approximately 18″ long)
- Divide dough in half and place one half on center of each piece of plastic wrap.
- Shape dough into rectangular bricks and wrap.
- Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
STEP 3:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove dough and fruit from refrigerator.
- Place parchment paper in 9″ x 13″ pan.
- Lightly flour work surface and roll one brick of dough to 9″ x 13″.
- Lay dough in prepared pan and spoon fruit mixture over the dough (leave 1/2″ border)
- Whisk egg wash and brush along 1/2″ border.
- Roll remaining brick of dough to 9″ x 13″ and lay over fruit, pressing edges to seal egg washed border. Trim any excess dough.
- Brush top with remaining egg wash.
STEP 4:
- Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Lift parchment with cereal bars out of pan and let cool completely.
- Trim off rough edges and slice into 2″ x 3″ bars.
*Bars can be kept in airtight container for 3 days.
**Bars can also be frozen and thawed for later use.
_________________________________________________________________________
All breakfast/cereal bars are not created equal. Though some store bought brands score higher in “wholesome” ingredients or contain sweeteners other than high fructose corn syrup, please check package ingredients and choose wisely should you opt to purchase them. Some “healthier” brands do contain hidden additives. Until next week…
Pingback: Easy, Healthy DIY Breakfast Cereal Bars - Cloud b
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve spent over an hour trying to find something I could take with me to work that would be healthy, relatively easy to pack around, didn’t need refrigeration, and was nut free. Thankfully I found this recipe. Going to make it tomorrow night.
Thank you so much for the comment!! I hope you enjoy them!
Pingback: Weekly Menu for 5-27-2013 | Whole Eats & Whole Treats
Pingback: Real Food Road Trips – Fresh options to Fast Food
Could you use all purpose in place of bread flour?
Hi Laura- The reason I chose bread flour for this recipe was to achieve a certain amount of chewiness and rise from the dough. Bread flour has a higher Gluten and protein content than all-purpose which I found was a good accompaniment to the whole wheat pastry flour I also used in the recipe. That being said, if you try all-purpose flour let us know how it goes!
Or one could just get up earlier and wake the kiddies earlier so they have time to eat a bowl of oatmeal at the kitchen table before one needs to leave the house. 😉
In a perfect world this would happen everyday. I believe this was discovered when mom was in a “pinch”. Have you never over slept, or had a child have a meltdown about getting dressed one morning? This is great for a less then perfect morning or a great after school snack. 😉
Bit judgemental there Cathy…I am sure it was meant as harmless but reading things outloud before you post them helps.
Wow, these sound yummy. I just started trying to cook healthier and use less processed food. I was curious is pastry flour really different from bread or all purpose flour? Between the white all purpose flour, white bread flour, King Arthur whole wheat flour my kitchen is overflowing with flour. lol. Was wondering if I could substitute one of those for pastry flour. thanks!
Hi Debbie – I hear you!! I haven’t made these without the whole wheat pastry flour, but I believe you could get a similar texture with 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all-purpose. The reason I used whole wheat pastry flour is to get all the fiber of whole wheat flour, but with a lighter texture. Let me know how they turn out!
Well, I finally got around to making these! Wow, they are amazing!! Here are a few of my cooking notes:
– I doubled the recipe, forgot to double the eggs but it all seemed to have turned out great.
– I used the leftover egg white for the egg wash, not sure if that was the intention or if I needed a whole egg but no complaints.
– I used strawberries for the filling and doubled the recipe but I probably didn’t need to double that. I have a lot left over so I froze it for the next batch! It made about 4 cups.
– Taste your filling. Mine was a bit tart so I added 1/3 – 1/2 cup of honey. Amazing result. The house smelled of strawberries and everyone was hovering in the kitchen so I told them to remember the smell when it came time to eating the bars 😉
– I used the optional oat bran. This definitely adds a crunch & changes the texture of the bar so if your kidlets prefer smooth food, opt out of the oat bran for the first batch while introducing this new bar.
– My doubled recipe made about 30 bars. I wrapped them individually in wax paper and froze them for lunches.
– My boys did eat them for breakfast this morning and gave me a thumbs up!
Those are great cooking notes!!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Wow- I love your site! I found you on Super Healthy Kids and it looks like we both are interested in the same thing- raising kids with as little processed, artificial ingredients as possible. I can’t wait to read more! Thanks!
Pingback: Healthy Meals and food for Healthy Kids » Weekly Family Meal Plan
Oh my goodness! I have been looking for a recipe like this for a while now!! So glad to have found it, now I just have to find a few minutes to make ’em!! Thanks!!
Pingback: The Holidays and Marshmallows – The Final Chapter “Hot Cocoa”
Hey, I found your blog on yahoo and read allot of your other recipes. I love what you have towright. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good job. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Thank you!