Cereal Power Bars

A power bar without the price! These snack bars have a variety of power ingredients for protein and fiber!

Picky Eater Tip:  Let kids choose how much food to eat.

I get a lot of questions regarding how much children need to eat in a day.  The problem is there are so many answers to this question, and your child is the one that should be answering it.  Even the new food guide pyramid is more customized than in the past.  Here’s the thing; if kids are eating healthy, whole, natural food, they will be better able to sense fullness and hunger.  When kids are given high-calorie, low-nutrient food, they lose their sense of satiety.  Kids today consume large quantities of calories, without fiber and vitamins, so they don’t feel full.  Then, they are trained that whether they are hungry or not, it’s noon and time for lunch, or the clock says it’s dinner.  The disconnect continues until as they reach adulthood, they have lost all sense of listening to their bodies.

What is the solution?  The solution is to provide healthy food when they are hungry.  Not make them “clean their plate”, and ask them to evaluate how much they need to be full.  Two nights ago, my daughter had three helpings of chicken and rice! WOW, she must have been hungry. Last summer, my oldest was swimming an hour a day and he was eating tons of food.  However, some days I can hardly get them to eat a thing.  This is O.K.  When we had breakfast with my husbands family this morning I started to clear the plates from the children.  It was interesting that so many of them were able to leave one or two bites of their pancakes on their plate because they got full.  But adults hardly ever do that.  Every adult plate was licked clean.  I tend to eat everything on my plate, even when I get full halfway through.  Oh, if we could only become like the little children and get our sense of hunger and fullness back.

So the bottom line; you decide WHAT they eat, let them decide HOW MUCH they eat. Of course than if your kids are like mine, they’ll say, “I’m too full for more dinner, but I’m not too full for dessert?” Of course they’re not. lo

Snacks can be a bridge to fill nutrient gaps in kids day, as well as fill their small stomachs between meals.  We like to keep our snacks small, but filling. These bars are exactly what we like when we need something between meals. 

What I love about these:  The beans!!  The dates!! The coconut!! The cinnamon!!  The high fiber cereal!!  And that the kids loved them! Everyone agreed they were amazing!

For more snack bars, check out:

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4.2 from 13 votes

Cereal Power Bar

A power bar without the price! These snack bars have a variety of power ingredients for protein and fiber!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 1 bar

Calories: 244kcal

Ingredients

• 1 can white beans
• 8 large dates, pitted
• 1 2/3 cup bran cereal (Fiber One)
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour, whole wheat
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoon butter, salted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoon oil, avocado
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup mini chips chocolate chips, semisweet

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil.
• Drain and rinse the beans; mash, or puree using a food processor.
• Chop dates and add to a large mixing bowl with cereal, coconut, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and beans.
• In a separate bowl melt butter. Add honey, oil and vanilla. Mix well and then drizzle into bean mixture, sprinkle with salt and mix together. Add chocolate chips, blend well. Spread in prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are browned.
• Cool completely and cut into 12 bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 184mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 27g

Keyword : Cereal Power Bar

www.superhealthykids.com

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