No Bake Oatmeal Breakfast Bars - Two ways

Summer has flown by, the air is turning cooler and kids are back in school. Schedules are busier than ever and these no bake oatmeal breakfast bars help make those busy school mornings just a little bit easier. Make ahead of time for a week or two's worth of quick breakfasts. The good people at MaraNatha Foods generously supplied me with a few of their products to create these bars to help make going to back to school that much smoother.

I still can't believe I have two kids in school now. Time seriously has flown by. I wasn't looking forward to having a MUCH earlier start to my day with my kids as I do now; having to line up for class at 7:50 am means our mornings need to be quick and efficient. Neither of which are strong points my children possess.  My youngest has been wanting to go to school for a long time now; having watched her older sister pack up a backpack and head off to school for almost two years. She yearned for a backpack and lunchbox of her own and this fall she has finally gotten her wish. So that means TWO kids I need to have ready early. Mission impossible.

Most mornings I am chasing them around asking them to brush their hair, find their socks, where are your shoes and why did you take your shorts off? Can you please sit to eat and where is your backpack?  You get the idea. So making them a 4 course breakfast or pancakes from scratch isn't gonna happen. At least not during the week.  I also am not getting up at 4 am to do so. I do make a lot of meals fresh each meal time, as I believe in that but I am also a huge fan of batch cooking or baking. Cooking once for meals for the week. At least the base of many meals.  Serious time saver. Something any busy parent can appreciate.

This is where these no-bake oatmeal bars come into play. Full of healthy ingredients we have as staples in our house and are easy enough to make that my kids were able to help out. They love to be in the kitchen with me, my 3 year old always wants to stir whatever it is I am stirring and they love to " help" with the dishes. When I told them I was making these breakfast bars for back to school meals they were very excited and even helped me create them. My 5 year old was all for sprinkling almonds on top of the Coconut Almond Butter oatmeal bars, as well as requesting raisins in the Sunflower Butter ones. My 3 year old, well, she just wanted to keep eating the sunflower seeds. I am convinced she is half squirrel.

My original plan was to create one recipe with the Maranatha butters. But both bars came out so good I knew I had to include both versions. Not only because of them being as good as they are but to also give a nut-free version. A lot of kids have nut-allergies these days and schools have become nut-free campuses so that means no more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in school lunches like I had when I was a kid. Maranatha's sunflower butter is a perfect substitute for peanut butter in any application and is especially good in these bars. Also when I tasted the final result of each bar I knew I was going to have a hard time picking just one. This recipe is really a no-bake oatmeal bar two ways, so all kids can enjoy.

I know I mentioned earlier that the weather is turning cooler, well here in Vegas it is still in the 100's. Doesn't feel like fall yet, so I am still making lots of recipes that don't require an oven.  Just a few minutes on the stove to heat the sunflower butter or coconut almond butter with the honey doesn't heat up the kitchen too much and makes for an easier time to mix the bars together. I have tried making bars similar to these in the past without this step and it wasn't as easy to mix together. I much prefer this method.

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Yield: 18

No Bake Oatmeal Breakfast Bars - Two ways

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No Bake Oatmeal Bars - Two Ways #BackToSchool Makes 18 bars

Ingredients

Sunflower Butter Oatmeal Bars

• Makes 18 bars

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ c quick cooking oats (gluten free)
• ½ c roasted sunflower seeds, divided
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 c Maranatha Sunflower Butter
• ½ c raw honey
• 2 ½ c quick cooking oats (gluten free)
• ½ c plus 2 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 c Maranatha Coconut Almond Butter
• ½ c raw honey
• 2 tablespoon slivered almonds

Instructions

For the Sunflower Butter Bars

1. Line an 8x8 pan with waxed paper
2. In a medium bowl mix together the oats, all but 2 tablespoon of the sunflower seeds, cinnamon, salt and raisins. Set aside
3. In a saucepan over low heat combine the sunflower butter, honey and vanilla. Stir until well combined and smooth. Pour over the oatmeal mixture in the bowl and stir until all the oatmeal is coated. Spread mixture into the prepared pan making sure there is even thickness. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoon Of sunflower seeds over the top and press gently. Chill for 2 hours. Removed and cut into bars. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.

For the Coconut Almond Butter Bars

1. Line an 8x8 pan with waxed paper
2. In a medium bowl mix together the oats, cinnamon, ½ cup of the shredded coconut and salt. Set aside
3. In a saucepan over low heat combine the coconut almond butter, honey and vanilla. Stir until well combined and smooth. Pour over the oatmeal mixture in the bowl and stir until all the oatmeal is coated. Spread mixture into the prepared pan making sure there is even thickness. Sprinkle the slivered almonds and 2 tablespoon of remaining coconut over the top and press gently. Chill for 2 hours. Removed and cut into bars. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.

Notes

Prep time includes chilling time. Hands on prep is 5- 10 minutes. Hands off prep is 2 hours (or more if you leave them in the fridge longer) You want to chill them to let them set up so they are firm enough to cut

Did you make this recipe?

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Here's to a safe and happy and delicious new school year filled with fun times, good meals and now where did my kid put her backpack this time????

Disclosure: I am honored to be a compensated brand ambassador for MaraNatha Foods. All opinions are my own and I never work with brands I don't personally use or believe in. I love the values that MaraNatha Foods and their parent company, Hain Celestial, hold for natural, organic and non-gmo foods. They are a brand I am very proud to have a working relationship with.

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