Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD, Co-authors, The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers
The Meal Makeover Moms have created a series of online videos featuring cooking demonstrations and mealtime/pantry tips. Discover easy ways to improve your family's diet by watching more of their how-to videos.
3 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups Mom’s Best Toasty O’s cereal
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup dried currants or raisins
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Combine the oats, Toasty O’s, almonds, flaxseed, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Whisk together the maple syrup, apple juice, canola oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl, then stir into the oat mixture until well coated.
Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.
When done, cool for about 10 minutes before adding the currants. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Tip: For a fun breakfast or snack sundae, layer Toasty-O-Granola with lowfat yogurt and fresh berries in a parfait glass.
Nutrition Information per Serving (1/2 cup): 260 calories, 12g fat (1g saturated, 0.9g omega-3), 40mg sodium, 35g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 6g protein
Kitchen Notes
• Numerous studies show that breakfast may indeed be the most important meal of the day. Boys and girls who fuel up before school have better classroom attendance and behavior, get higher grades, and have more energy and enthusiasm for learning. They also tend to eat a more nutritious diet overall and weigh less than their friends who arrive at school hungry. It’s clear that kids (and adults) are healthier and happier when their stomachs aren’t rumbling.
• We’ve all seen it before: Children who bring candy, cookies, bags of snack chips, and sugary fruit drinks for their 10:00am snack. We view snack time as an opportunity to fill in the nutritional gaps in a child’s diet by offering a variety of healthy nibbles. Nix the junk food and bring on the good-for-you treats:
o Melon balls or halved strawberries with fun toothpicks
o Lowfat cheese sticks with whole grain crackers.
o Squeeze yogurts
o Mini applesauce or applesauce in a tube
o 100% fruit juice, water, all-natural fruit smoothies, lowfat milk or soymilk
• Oatmeal, in all its forms, is good for you. The soluble fiber found in oats (a whole grain) helps to lower cholesterol. Besides their heart-healthy benefit, oats are also low in calories. A half-cup serving of quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats has just 150 calories, as well as an impressive 4 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein (about the same amount of protein as 1 ounce of ground turkey). A packet of unsweetened instant oatmeal has just 100 calories (the portion size is smaller) and shares the same nutritional benefits of the quick and old-fashioned varieties.
