Let's have a healthy snack: 5 recipes for cereal bars for every taste

Oat standard

Oatmeal "Hercules" "National" is a traditional ingredient for cereal bars. Modern technologies for processing cereals make it possible to preserve all useful substances and microelements and at the same time reduce the preparation time of the product. Oatmeal contains a lot of fiber, important for the body, and easily digestible minerals and vitamins. First, pour boiling water over 50 g of dried apricots, prunes and dates, leave for 5 minutes, dry and chop. Mash a large ripe banana with a fork, combine with dried fruits, and beat until smooth. Dry 100 g of hazelnuts in a frying pan without oil and grind into crumbs. You can simply chop some of the nuts - the bars will taste better with large pieces. Next, mix 200 g of dry oatmeal with fruit puree and hazelnuts, pour in 80 g of honey and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Spread the mixture in an even layer on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake at 180°C for half an hour. Using a sharp knife, cut the layer into squares and place them in a glass jar with an airtight lid.

Buckwheat in a new role

National buckwheat bars are an unexpected but very interesting variation. Buckwheat is a product of the highest quality that has undergone special processing, calibration and purification. As a result, the appearance of the product improves, its nutritional value increases, and cooking time is significantly reduced. Soak 300 g of buckwheat in water overnight. Pour 70 g of almonds, pecans and walnuts onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for 5 minutes at 180°C. Mash 2 medium bananas with a fork and combine with swollen buckwheat. Add 100 g of dried cranberries, 50 g of peeled pumpkin seeds, assorted nuts, 2 tbsp. l. chia seeds, 1 tsp. cinnamon and cardamom. Add 100 ml of maple syrup to this mixture and mix well. Spread it in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the oven at 180°C for 40 minutes. This combination will delight you not only with an abundance of valuable nutrients, but also with a harmonious taste.

Useful tips

Useful tips and tricks to help you prepare homemade PP bars:

• Dried fruits for bars must be pre-soaked in water. Many of them are soaked in a special syrup containing sugar.
• For bars, it is better to use instant oatmeal. Its flakes are more delicate and soft.
• In order for the nuts to have a more pronounced taste, it is recommended to fry them in a frying pan or in the oven before using them.
• The consistency of the bars depends on the cooking method. Products browned in the oven are more crumbly and crispy. Moist, juicy textures are characteristic of bars that were prepared without heat treatment.
• PP bars prepared at home using the oven are stored well in baking paper at room temperature in a dark, dry place.

Crispy snack for gourmets

Craving something fancy? Make healthy National Quinoa bars. Quinoa tastes like brown rice and is good as a side dish and for making porridges. Quinoa contains more protein than other grains and is also high in fiber, complex carbohydrates and folic acid. Quinoa is almost completely absorbed by the body and is therefore very useful for vegetarians, people leading a healthy lifestyle, and children. Boil 200 g of quinoa in slightly salted water and discard in a colander. Next we connect it with 2 tbsp. l. coconut flakes, 2 tsp. flaxseeds and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Dissolve 3 tbsp. l. honey in 200 ml of water, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Pour the resulting syrup over the quinoa, then add the mashed banana, 1 tbsp. l. peanut butter and stir vigorously. Line a ceramic mold with parchment, distribute the plastic mass evenly and place in the oven at 180°C for 25 minutes. When it cools down, cut it into portions. If you wish, you can add candied fruits or nuts to the recipe - the taste of the bars will become even brighter and more interesting.

Composition, benefits and harm

The main ingredient in muesli bars is compressed grains (oats, barley, wheat or rye). To give the finished product greater benefits, nutritional value and taste, dried berries and fruits, nuts and seeds, honey or molasses, chocolate, cocoa, and yogurt are added to the main component.

According to the cooking technology, the bars can be raw, not heat-treated, and baked or fried. Raw muesli is considered healthier and lower in calories, but it is more difficult for the body to digest than bars baked with oils at high temperatures.

The beneficial properties of muesli bars are due to their multi-component composition:

1. Whole grains provide the body with the necessary amount of fiber, which has a beneficial effect on intestinal motility, normalizes the processes of carbohydrate metabolism in the body, and gives the body a long-lasting feeling of satiety;
2. Dried fruits and honey serve as a rich source of vitamins and beneficial macro- and microelements, slow and fast carbohydrates, which can satiate a person for a long time without causing sudden changes in blood sugar levels;
3. Nuts and seeds, like varieties of expensive fish, can fully provide the body with unsaturated fatty acids (Omega-3, Omega-6), as well as proteins, fiber, iron, phosphorus and vitamins B, E and A.

In addition to the benefits listed for the body, muesli bars are a convenient snack on the go, which can not only completely replace candy, waffles and cookies, but also significantly reduce cravings for sweets.

Despite all the advantages, some nutritionists still see disadvantages in this food product that can harm the human body. This is primarily a high calorie content and a significant content of fructose and sucrose, which dried fruits are rich in. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat more than 30 grams of granola bars per day, and people with diabetes are better off avoiding them altogether.

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Simple recipe

The composition of store-bought muesli bars (aka granola), when examined in detail, is not so harmless. Of course, over a hundred years, the technology of their production has changed significantly, and the composition has managed to be enriched with various preservatives, stabilizers and dyes.

This has made commercially produced granola a rather dubious product, but it's not hard to make healthier granola bars at home from compressed grains.

How to make your own granola bars:

1. Nuts and large seeds (for example, pumpkin) need to be chopped into smaller pieces with a knife;

2. Grind half the dried fruits with a few drops of honey to a puree. Chop the other half of the dry berries and fruits with a knife;

3. In a bowl of a suitable size, mix all the products, mix the mass well until it becomes homogeneous;
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4. Spread the resulting mass evenly on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. The thickness of the layer should not exceed one and a half centimeters;

5. Place the nut-oat mixture in the oven for 20-25 minutes to dry at 180 degrees. Cut the hot layer of granola into portioned bars and cool.

Wheat transformation

Perfect for making National millet bars. Millet "National" is polished, calibrated millet of the highest quality. For its production, only red millet is used, from which bright yellow millet is obtained. During production, millet undergoes additional cleaning and calibration. Millet grains are perfect for making porridges and casseroles. To begin, add 250 g of millet to 500 ml of water, add some salt and cook like regular porridge. At this time, steam 150 g of dried apricots in boiling water, dry with a paper towel and chop into strips. Chop 100 g of hazelnuts into large pieces. Place boiled millet with dried apricots and nuts in a blender bowl, add the grated zest of one lemon and lightly punch. Mix in a handful of peeled sunflower seeds, keep the mixture in the freezer for 20 minutes, then form small bars and roll on all sides in sesame seeds or cocoa with ground cinnamon. Leave them in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to set properly. By the way, such bars will replace regular porridge for those who always don’t have enough time for breakfast in the morning.

Diet bars

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup green buckwheat. It will need to be ground to flour in a coffee grinder.
• 10 dates. Fill them with hot water and leave for 10 minutes to swell. Then we take out the bones.
• 1 glass of any plant milk. Coconut or almond will work well.
• 7 grams of agar-agar.

Step by step recipe:

• Put the milk on the fire and add agar-agar to it, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Then mix milk, dates and chopped buckwheat in a blender. The mass will immediately become thick. If desired, add nuts or seeds to the mixture.
• Place in a silicone mold and refrigerate until thickened. Cut into bars.

Couscous in chocolate

Incorrigible sweet tooths who cannot imagine life without chocolate can treat themselves to National couscous bars. Couscous is a traditional Moroccan grain prepared in a special way: ground durum wheat grains (i.e. semolina) are moistened, rolled into small balls and dried. Couscous is a light yellow coarse grain. As a side dish, it can be served cold or hot; this large variety of couscous is added to salads or used instead of bread crumbs to obtain a crispy crust. Pour boiling water over 150 g of couscous in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, cover with a plate and let sit for 10 minutes. Steam an assortment of any dried fruit to your taste, weighing 200–250 g, in boiling water for 5 minutes. If the bars are not intended for children, you can soak them in cognac. Heat a mixture of 2 tbsp in a water bath. l. honey and 80 ml olive oil. Pour dried fruits here, keep on fire for a couple of minutes and combine with couscous. You can also add chopped nuts. Melt a bar of dark chocolate without fillers. We grease silicone molds with it, fill it with couscous base and cover it with liquid chocolate on top. Place the bars on a tray in the refrigerator so that they take on a beautiful, appetizing appearance.

Homemade cereal bars are a surprisingly harmonious combination of taste and benefits. First of all, thanks to the variety of cereals of the National brand. These are products of impeccable quality with great taste and an impressive supply of valuable elements, which they generously share with grain delicacies.

What's included

Muesli bars are pressed bars made from oat flakes, as well as from other grains: barley, rye, wheat.

Cereals contain many vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, which is extremely necessary for the proper functioning of the intestines.

They have a high calorie content, which makes it easy to satisfy hunger, but complex carbohydrates take a long time to digest, so eating bars in moderation does not lead to obesity.

Depending on the recipe, the following can be added to the bar: candied fruits, seeds, nuts, honey and sugar. Some people add chocolate, cocoa or caramel to the dish. But this turns a healthy snack into a delicious dessert.

The calorie content of a bar can vary depending on its composition, from 150 to 400 kilocalories. When preparing a dish at home, it is important to calculate the energy value in order to prevent unwanted weight gain.

Pressed muesli comes in two types: raw and baked. The former are much healthier; they usually do not contain oil. The latter are higher in calories, but after heat treatment they are easier to digest.

If a person often experiences functional disorders of the intestines, baked bars are more suitable for him, but their size should be made smaller to reduce the calorie content of the snack.

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