Healthy Flapjacks - Deliciously Ella Recipe

Lately i've been looking for something that I can snack on to curb the sweet cravings, but every time i've looked at something packaged and ready to eat i'd turn over to the ingredients and very quickly change my mind! The amount of snack food items which are marketed as being 'healthy' or the timely classic 'low in fat' are usually so full of sugar/sweeteners and additives they actually scare me! I may not understand most of it, though I like to think I do, but the few I've googled to find out what they are put me off anything I can't pronounce! To think just a few years ago this type of food was all I ever ate is a little alarming. Now i'm not going to claim that I eat healthily ALL of the time but I do try to keep it 80/20,  here she goes, the 80/20 bandwagon everyone's jumping on. I do generally eat healthy, home cooked meals most of the time but I won't restrict myself from having a treat or two, or three, if I fancy it otherwise there's a very good chance I will go crazy and turn in to a moody monster.



After looking and failing to find some decent snack foods which didn't cost the earth for a snack bar I decided to purchase the Deliciously Ella book and try out a few recipes. In case you don't already know, the book is by Ella Woodward who over came health problems from changing her diet and cutting out meat, dairy and processed foods and inspires other people to lead a healthier lifestyle through sharing her recipes through her blog, book and articles.

One of the first recipes I tried out was flapjacks and they are so good, best part about it is you don't have to feel guilty about eating more than one as it's all just natural ingredients (yay for snack food!). They're really easy to make and use ingredients that line my cupboards on a weekly basis.

Ingredients:

2 Bananas
3 Cups of Plain Oats
6 Tablespoons of Pure Maple Syrup
4 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil
6 Tablespoons of Nut Butter - I've used both cashew butter and almond butter and they're both amazing providing I don't eat it all before it goes in the mix



Method:

- Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius
- Chop up the bananas in to small pieces and mash them up with a fork
- Put the bananas, maple syrup, nut butter and coconut oil into a pan and simmer until it forms a thick, gloopy liquid. You will need to keep stirring it, don't worry if it's lumpy it will be fine.
- Measure out the oats in to a mixing bowl before taking the liquid off the heat and pouring it over the oats.
- Mix everything together then place the mixture on to a baking tray lined with grease proof paper and spread out evenly
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the top starts to brown then leave to cool before cutting it in to squares.

You can mix up the ingredients a little and add things in like dried fruit in as variations. These are honestly some of the best flapjacks I have tried and the knowledge that they aren't doing me any harm as a mid-afternoon snack at work makes them pretty amazing.

Have you tried any of the Deliciously Ella recipes? Let me know if there is any snack food recipes you would recommend as i'm always looking to try new ones out!