Have you had your oats lately?

14^th May 2014

Don’t ask the universe to guide you if you’re not willing to move your feet!

So we’ve been having a bit of a debate the last few days about porridge – yeah we steer clear of politics and focus on what’s important like how to eat your porridge!   Jane believes it’s wrong to put fruit in it but what does she know!  I’ve been eating mine this week raw with cold milk and a banana in, I like it but apparently others aren’t convinced.  The truth is we’re just having a bit of banter and you can eat your porridge any way you like, after all porridge is one of the best starts to the day you can have, oats are the healthy, slow energy-release cereal so however you decide to eat them they’re a good choice!  I also like mine layered in a glass with berries and 0% plain greek yogurt, all Filling & Healthy ingredients, and for an extra ProPoint top it with a bit of honey or agave syrup – nice!

What about a slice of banana bread to start your day if you’re in a rush to get out the house, Banana bread is a great combination of fast-burning carbs for quick energy and – if you use wholemeal flour – slow-burning carbs that'll fill you up. Line a loaf tin and preheat a medium oven (180ºC/gas mark 4). Mash 4 ripe bananas and mix with 225g self-raising flour (19pp), 100g butter (21pp), 150g caster sugar (16pp), two eggs (4pp) and a pinch of salt. Bake for 1-1½ hours until the bread is golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.  Makes 10 slices at 6pp a slice.

I have to say I love a raspberry wake up muffin for breakfast occasionally when I have the time to make them as they’re best eaten warm.  The link for that recipe is http://wwbevsworld.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/let-them-eat-cake.html

I like the idea of energy breakfast bars too, had a great recipe and as much as I’ve looked for it his morning I can’t find it, I know my sister has it somewhere so will ask her for it alter.  There’s a recipe on the Weight Watchers website though for a version.

I’ve just found this recipe as I was googling and they look to die for, I'm a bit scared to ProPoint them, but here goes,

Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
These aren’t, as the recipe notes warn, actually “crumb” bars, with the streuselly topping you might see on crumbles or coffee cakes. Instead, they’re more like a raspberry sandwich cookie, yet less sweet than a typical dessert, and more earnest somehow.
I think you could easily swap the raspberries with blackberries.
For the crust and crumb:
1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour  (17pp)
1 cup (190 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar (20pp)
1 1/4 (120 grams) cups rolled oats (12pp)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 170 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces (36pp)

For the raspberry filling:
1/4 cup (50 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar (6pp)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons (15 grams) all-purpose flour (4pp)
1 pound (455 grams) raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (6pp)

Make the crust and crumb: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.

Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. (Note: The book suggests you reserve one cup only. My gut told me that was too little, and I upped it. I wanted to make sure the top of the raspberries were mostly covered, at least for packing purposes, and was glad I had changed it.) Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.

Make the raspberry filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.

Assemble and bake the bars: Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days.

Recipe from http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Raspberry-crumb-breakfast-bars-307178

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OUCH! So I worked them out, it doesn’t actually say how many it makes, but the total ProPoints are 100pp, so if you got 14 slices out of it that’s 7pp a slice, 20 slices would be 5pp a slice, you get the gist!  They do look good though, however the only last a couple of days, scary.  Maybe worth trying with sweetener and low fat spread in place of the butter and sugar, would probably still taste good and save lots of ProPoints. 

Enough of this food lark, I have work to go to :) have a great day all and remember a little of what you fancy does you good, but having 100pp of raspberry bars in your kitchen and no one to help you eat them is just plain silly!

BeYOUtiful and Eat Gorgeous – you know you’re worth it.