Check out the delicious sounding and looking recipes containing canola oil that were featured on The Marilyn Denis Show. All three recipes include canola oil and Meaghan Baron, Food Consultant, toutes them as “Healthy Snacks for kids on the go”. If you visit the site you can also watch the segment and see Meaghan and Marilyn in action. I might just have to give one of them a whirl. I’ve posted the Homemade Power Bars below but you can visit http://www.marilyn.ca/Cooking/KidsSnacks.aspx for Secretly Sweet Squares using sweet potato and mashed banana as the base and Snowflake Drops that have a protein punch from added skim milk powder.
Homemade Power Bars
These dense and delicious press-in-the-pan energy squares are a good source of protein and also make use of chia seeds (an excellent source of omega-3s and fibre), sesame seed tahini (rich in iron, magnesium, and calcium) and oat bran (which, like oatmeal, contains B complex vitamins and heart healthy soluble fibre).
Chef’s Tip: Keep your eye out for chia seeds in the Health and Organic section of your grocery store, or in health food stores. If your family has a real sweet tooth, use sweetened nut butter or substitute sweetened coconut for the unsweetened.
2 cups room-temperature peanut butter (use soy butter to make this recipe nut-free)
½ cup room-temperature tahini
2/3 cup maple syrup
¼ cup canola oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup oat bran
3/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds, divided
¼ cup chia seeds (or sesame seeds)
1 cup finely chopped pitted dates
1 cup unsweetened coconut
Add nut butter, tahini, maple syrup and canola oil into a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Stir in cocoa powder, oat bran, ½ cup sunflower seeds, chia seeds, dates, and coconut. Line an 8 inch (2 L) square glass or metal pan with aluminum foil so it overhangs pan. Press mixture into pan and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sunflower seeds. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until firm. To serve, lift squares out of pan using aluminum foil. Cut into 32 bars.
Recipe from The Marilyn Dennis Show – http://www.marilyn.ca/Cooking/KidsSnacks.aspx
