This simple recipe is reminiscent of the kind of food Mum would bake for us as an after school snack. She would quite often have some tasty little baked goods ready for us when we all piled off the bus and it’s one of the things I remember fondly of those early school years.

These nut and seed oat bars are simple to make and are full to the brim with healthy and tasty ingredients. The best thing is you can switch up the recipe quite easily to include what you have on had in the pantry.

Here I added sunflower seeds a great source of vitamin E and magnesium, pepitas or pumpkin seeds which are a source of zinc and iron, walnuts and linseeds (flax seeds) which are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids and molasses a source of iron. So these little oat bars not only taste super good but they’re good for you too!!

A great recipe to prepare with kids, they make a tasty & nutritious addition to your lunch box or as a mid-morning snack with a cup of tea. You could omit the icing for a healthier option and use a dairy butter if you enjoy dairy.

Nut + Seed Oat Bars w/ Sweet Lemon Coconut Icing

Preparation time: 25mins // Makes approximately 20 bars

• ½ cup unbleached self raising flour
• ½ cup unbleached plain flour
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tbs linseeds (flax seeds)
• 100g dairy-free or dairy butter
• 2½ tbs molasses (or treacle or golden syrup)
• ½ tsp bi-carbonate soda
• ¼ cup hot water

for the lemony icing

• 1 cup icing sugar
• ½-1 lemon, juice & zest
• 1 tsp dairy-free or dairy butter
• ¼ cup shredded coconut

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/356°F

Sift the flours into a large bowl, add the oats, coconut, seeds and nuts and stir to combine well.

Combine the bi-carbonate soda with the warm water and stir to dissolve.

Heat the butter and molasses over a low heat in a small saucepan stirring until the butter is melted and combined with the molasses. Remove from the heat and add the bi-carbonate mixture, stir through allowing it to foam.

Combine the molasses and butter mixture with the dry ingredients, stirring well until combined.

Transfer the mixture into a lightly greased 25cm square non-stick baking tray, smoothing it out to cover the base evenly.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the baking tray for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile prepare the icing by combing the sugar, butter and enough lemon juice to bring the sugar together into a runny icing, over a very low heat in a small saucepan. Add enough zest to taste and add the lemon juice a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Drizzle the prepared icing evenly over the cooled bars and sprinkle with coconut before the icing sets.

Once the icing is set cut evenly into bars.

These oaty nut bars should keep well in an air-tight container for 5 days or so. If the weather is overly hot keep them in the fridge to be sure the icing doesn’t melt.