Thursday, September 15, 2011

Back To School Snacks...

This week the kids all headed to school. (can I get an AMEN!!)
With 5 kids, finding snacks that are healthy, nut-free and affordable can become quite daunting...

Something that my kids just love now, are Bear Paws, we have sent them to school for as long as they have been a nut-free facility...

We were sent a back to school care package of the newest Bear Paws out there...the Cereal and Fruit ones.  They are a sandwich cookie with a nice fruit jam filling...

At first my kids weren't sure about it, but when they tasted them they wanted more!!  I have had to fight them off just to make sure we have some left for the first week
 of school!! 

Another great snack idea is Orville's Power Crunch Bars, and you know what is in them, right?

POPCORN!!  My kids love popcorn, they could eat it all day and all night...


Orville's Power Crunch Bars
Serves: 24 servings (1 bar each)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients·        
1 mini bag (31 g each) Orville Redenbacher's® Smart Pop!® 100 Calorie Buttery Flavour Microwave Popcorn
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 Cup quick-cooking rolled oats
3/4 Cup dried cranberries
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 Cup margarine, softened
3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
3 *serving (1/3 sec spray) PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon water

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 15x10-inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
2.       Prepare popcorn according to package directions. Remove any unpopped kernels; set aside.
3.       Combine brown sugar and margarine in large bowl, using electric mixer on high speed.  Add water and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy.  Gradually add flour mixture and blend well. Turn mixer on low speed; add cranberries.
4.       Cover hands with plastic gloves or sandwich size plastic bags; spray with cooking spray. Mix popcorn into dough. Spread mixture into prepared pan.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
5.       Let cool before cutting into 24 bars.  Store in tightly sealed container.



We added a bit too much popcorn, so the bars didn't actually turn out, but it was a great snack to eat from a bowl!!  The kids loved it and inhaled it so fast that it didn't last long enough to bring to school:-) 

We will be making this recipe again soon...

What back to school snacks did you send with your kids this week?

1 comments:

  1. Wow yummy stuff there Ruth, I appreciate having recipes on hand, snacks are always a tough one.

    ReplyDelete