The best muesli slice...ever

I cannot believe it has been nearly 2 weeks since my last blog....shocking! It has been a very busy couple of weeks, The Boss' Great Grandmother came to stay and we went on a road trip up north to Keri Keri, I love Northland so it was a real treat. I suspect Great Grandma left with a bleeding tongue due to the number of times she had to bite it, as she witnessed my attempts of 'modern' parenting. The wonderful thing about my Grandmother is she makes her own pastry and bread, she could not hide her disappointment when she caught site of my frozen bought pastry and bags of bread. So while she stayed she made us a wonderful bacon and egg pie, which nearly had me converted to making my own, yet to be truly converted though. She also made us a Yorkshire pudding, which I am going to have a go at asap, so watch this space. Yorkshire pudding is not for those threatened by heart disease, but is a delicious treat with a slow roasted piece of beef and gravy.

Onto this super slice I made for Mr Hoopers lunch box this week. You need a few ingredients, but things are flexible with this recipe so feel free to mix things up a bit. You may recall a previous blog for a muesli slice, well this one has similar ingredients, but is naughtier, and doesn't need cooking, fabo!

THE BEST MUESLI SLICE...EVER

125g crushed BISCUITS such as malt, arrowroot or wine (not too fine, a chunky rubble)
25g shredded COCONUT
100g SULTANAS
25g PUMPKIN SEEDS
50g CHOCOLATE CHIPS
100g chopped HAZELNUTS or WALNUTS
125g ROLLED OATS, toasted (about 7-10mins spread on a tray in a hot oven)
50g chopped DATES
100g chopped DRIED APRICOTS
100g melted BUTTER
200g SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

ICING
150g CREAM CHEESE
about 100g ICING SUGAR
zest and juice of half a LEMON

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour in the melted butter and condensed milk, mix very well. Line a 25cm x 30cm (approx) tray with some baking paper. Press the mixture into the tray and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

You can either mix the icing ingredients by hand with a vigorous stir, or throw everything into a food processor. Spread icing on the slice and decorate with a sprinkling of nuts or pumpkin seeds if you so desire.

Some variations you could try out...
-replace the rolled oats with you favourite muesli
-replace the choc chips with currants, dried cranberries, or crystallised ginger
-use macadamia or pecan nuts

I hope you enjoy this slice, it is so easy and a fabulous sweet treat to fill the 3pm void, and quite frankly who can resist cream cheese icing!

I am planning a baby shower at the moment, so if you have any hot tips on throwing the best shower ever, please share them.

Feel Good Muesli Bar....the consequences of too much Pain!

So The Boss and I have just returned from his swimming lesson, it was rudely cut short by an 'incident' in the pool, nothing to do with us, thank god! I refrained from expressing my disgust, as I am guessing this can happen to any parent at any time. Its a bit like when I use to board planes and see children getting on, I am not a religious person, but I truly use to pray that the children would be sitting far far away from me. I am guessing I will be punished for my intolerance, at some point in the future, although I suspect we are a long way off jet setting by air.

Anyway, onto a more savoury topic...food. We managed to devour the bulk of the pastry's, I snuck two into the freezer, a pathetic attempt at self control. As a result of our unrestrained gluttony, I have made some muesli slice. This is not just regular muesli slice, there is so much goodness in this recipe, I don't know where to begin. A friend of mine kindly delivered a mountain of it when I first had The Boss, and she said it was a life saver for those moments when you have never felt so hungry in all your life. Breastfeeding seems to suck every calorie from your body, something I am very grateful for of course. But to avoid turning to a packet of Tim Tams, I found this muesli slice has been fabulous! Mr Hooper even agrees, and gobbles it up with glee (well maybe not glee, lets just say he will eat it).

So you need to get to the supermarket and head straight for the bulk bins as they will have pretty much everything you need, aside from the pantry staples:

125g butter

200g raw sugar

1 egg

125g wholemeal flour

1/2 tspn baking soda

125g rolled oats

30g pumpkin seeds

30g sunflower seeds

30g sesame seeds

30g slivered almonds

25g ground linseed

25 shredded coconut

50g dried apricots

50g raisins

Melt Butter. When cooled add sugar and egg, mix well.

In separate bowl mix all the other ingredients together.

Mix dry ingredients into butter mixture. I get my hands in there to make sure everything is mixed well. It might seem quite dry, but once it is all mixed, and pressed firmly into a 25cm square tin, it should be ready for baking. I use an expandable tin, to make things easier.

Bake at 180C for approx 10-15 minutes, depending on depth of mixture and how chewy you want it.

Turn it out of the tin before it is completely cooled and cut into pieces.

I mix things up with the dried fruit, I have made batches with crystallised ginger instead of raisins, and that was really good.

So with this slice of goodness you are getting all the great things LSA has to offer, such as digestive regularity, B vitamins, Omega 3 and fibre. As well as a great Zinc fix from the pumpkin and sesame seeds, which is essential in a good diet. Most importantly I have been loading up on Zinc as I started loosing hair by the handful when The Boss hit the 3 month mark. So if you are suffering from breastfeeding baldness, then this is the slice for you! I am encouraged by the knowledge the hair loss is not permanent, but right now my hair is a disaster site, thank goodness for elastic bands and headbands.

Make this slice for your friends who have had babies, its a good excuse to pay a visit, or make it for yourself, just because it is yummy and makes you feel so good.

Have a fab wednesday.