I came up with this recipe when the boys transitioned from purees to ‘real’ food and it’s been a much loved snack ever since. Oats are incredibly nutrient dense, high in fibre and easy to store, I always keep a big jar in the cupboard. Looking for healthy snacks containing oats I found that there was a huge variety of sweet options available and although some of them very healthy I wanted something closer to a proper meal while still being a bar of some kind, easy for kids of all ages to eat on the go.
What you need:
2 tbsp olive oil
Half an onion – peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves - minced
1 carrot – peeled and cubed
1 parsnip – peeled and cubed
1 small sweet potato – peeled and cubed
100g red split lentils
1 tbsp date sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
80g seeds/seed mix of choice ( I like pumpkin, sunflower and flaxseed)
120g porridge oats
Salt to taste
How you do it:
Preheat your oven to gas mark 6 (200C).
In a frying pan heat up the olive oil, add onion, carrot, parsnip and sweet potato and fry for a few minutes stirring frequently. Now add garlic and date sugar and fry for another couple of minutes.
Cover everything with water or vegetable stock and pour in the lentils. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the lentils soft and creamy, this should take around 20-25mins.
Drain and blend in a food processor or with a hand held blender until you have a smooth mash-like paste. Add oats, seeds and garlic powder and mix until everything is well combined.
Season to taste and spread on a lined baking tray, about 2cm thick. Bake in the oven for approximately half an hour, flipping your oatbar over once the top starts to look dry and firm (use a big chopping board or anything heat resistant to flip it on to, then peel the baking paper off and slide the oatbar back onto the baking tray).
Leave to cool and cut or break into squares.
Can be frozen or kept in the fridge for around 4 days.