Over the school holidays, the kids and I spent a bit of time in the kitchen making some healthy-ish treats for their lunchboxes (and to have with a nice cup of tea or as an after-dinner sweet treat). I am not sure there are any left for the lunchboxes tomorrow but they were all delicious and very quick and easy to make. We also experimented with making a Coconut Cream Panna Cotta - we hardly ever have dessert but these were light and creamy, took five minutes to make, and went really nicely with some new season berries. Enjoy.

Muesli Bites

6 T hulled tahini
4 T rice malt syrup
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 C seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower)
1 C coconut
1/3 C chocolate chips
1/3 C dried cranberries (or raisins)

Put the tahini, rice malt syrup and vanilla into a mixing bowl and mix well. Add the seeds, coconut, chocolate chips and cranberries and, using wet hands, mix well to combine all the ingredients. Pour into a lined loaf tin and press down evenly. Refrigerate for a few hours, then cut into bars or squares. Makes 12 squares. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Coconut Panna Cotta

1 x tin coconut cream
1 t vanilla extract
1/3 C cream
1/4 cup rice malt syrup
1 T maple syrup (plus extra for decorating)
10g gelatine, dissolved in 125ml hot water

Heat the coconut cream, cream, vanilla and rice malt syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat, to ensure all ingredients are combined well. Do not boil. Remove from heat and add the prepared gelatine and stir well. Pour into 6 ramekins and refrigerate until set (this will take a few hours). Serve with berries and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Chocolate Almond and Apricot Bars

6 T coconut oil, melted
1/2 C nut butter
3 T rice malt syrup
3 T Dutch cocoa powder
1/2 C roasted unsalted almonds
1/2 C dried apricots, chopped
pinch of sea salt
1/2 t vanilla

Melt the coconut oil in  a saucepan. Once melted, take off the heat and add the nut butter and stir with a fork to combine. Once smooth, add the rice malt syrup and cocoa powder, stirring thoroughly to combine all ingredients. Add the nuts and apricots and stir through. Pour into a lined loaf tin and refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Remove from tin and slice into bars. Makes about 12 bars. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.