There is nothing like trying to find a snack for your kids when you are dealing with multiple allergies. Dairy, egg and nut allergies are extremely common, and if you are lucky (or unlucky) in the allergy draw – you get them all.
A mom out of Central Point, OR knows your pain and developed her own recipe for delicious snack bars. This recipe was submitted to Oregon Healthy Living at the Mail Tribune. These bars avoid dairy, eggs and nuts and can be modified to avoid other allergens.
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Allergy Friendly Energy Bars
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup rye flour
2 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup pumpkin seed or sunflower seed butter
1 cup raisins
3 TBSP water
2 TBSP flax meal
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Melt margarine. In a large bowl mix together margarine, brown sugar, honey and vanilla extract. Pulse the oats in a food processor for 30 seconds. Add oats to the wet ingredients.
3. Pulse seed butter, raisins, flax and water in the food processor for 30-60 seconds. Scrape the seed butter mixture into the oat mixture. Add remaining dry ingredients – rye flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well.
4. Press into a 13 by 9 inch lightly greased pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
5. Let pan cool for 10 minutes before cutting into bars. These will keep for a week in an airtight container or for up to two months in a freezer. Makes approximately 20 bars.
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I’d like to suggest some great substitutions to try with this recipe. For seed butter, you can substitute soy nut butter. Soy nut butter tastes a lot like peanut butter for those picky eaters. In place of dairy-free margarine, consider coconut oil. If you like the taste of coconut, try extra virgin coconut oil – it will add a hint of coconut flavor to your bars. If you aren’t a real fan of coconut flavor, try the expeller-pressed coconut oil. It is very creamy and mild and much like butter.
If you’d like a lower gluten version of this bar, consider a non-gluten flour.
