Sandwich Free Lunchboxes: Lunchbox Muesli Bars

My kids have always loved store bought muesli bars.  We used to eat them on a regular basis as a healthy snack (when I thought they were a healthy snack). Then I discovered how easy and cost saving they are to make at home, so I started baking my own. When we were still eating refined sugars, I made sugar laden ones every few week for after school snacks and lunchboxes.

When we removed refined sugar from our diets, I knew they weren't something we would give up easily, so I made up this quick and easy muesli bar recipe.  It's full of whole grains and natural sweeteners.  My kids love these!  

I've found refined sugar free muesli bar recipes that are suitable for the lunchbox very hard find.  Most recipes are either packed with sugar or contain nuts.  Since the majority of Australian schoolkids attend nut-free schools, mine included, I wanted a recipe that was yummy, met our nutritional needs (no refined sugars!) and was nut free. These are perfect!

They're easy to make, and are perfect to put in the freezer for an easy lunchbox treat!  

Smoothie Icy Poles

My kids love smoothies. In summer, we have smoothies most days for breakfast. They're fast, easy, and extremely healthy. Loaded with fruit, yogurt and baby spinach, they're very filling, and can keep my family going until lunch. With only real food ingredients and no refined sugar, these are the perfect way to start the day.

Given our addiction to this tasty way to start our day, when I came across this idea from Lisa at 100 Days of Real Food (Blog Post: My Favorite School Lunch Supplies), I knew we had to try them!

Smoothie Icy Poles

All you need is your favourite smoothie recipe (you can find ours here) and the molds.

I purchased my silicone push up molds from Ebay. They were fairly inexpensive, (under $15 for 10 molds including shipping) and they come in fun, bright colours which my kids love!

Start by mixing up your favourite smoothie in your blender or food processor. Or, if you have any, use the leftovers from breakfast. Gather your molds and find a jar to prop them in while filling.

7 Tried and True Refined Sugar Free Recipes

I've tried a lot of refined sugar free recipes and failed.  A LOT.  It always the same thing. The taste isn't right.  The sugar substitute used doesn't create the right flavour combination. It's bland or difficult to eat.

Just because I don't eat refined sugar doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy sweet foods.  It means I want to eat healthier without the nasty side effects of sugar addiction and teach my kids to eat foods that aren't highly processed with chemicals and additives.  I want real food recipes that we can enjoy and savour that I'm not ashamed to feed to my sugar eating family and friends.

I've dug through piles of blogs and tried hundreds of recipes to compose this list of  my tried and true refined sugar free recipes from other bloggers for you to enjoy as well.  These recipes please the hardest of critics (including my kids), and are made over and over in my kitchen.  I hope you love them as much as we do!

Honey Vanilla Puffed Corn

You will regularly hear me comment one of our family's biggest challenges is birthday parties.  Not only are we refined sugar free, but I also limit processed foods and we try to avoid all artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.  (Except my husband, you'll always find a bag of Doritos in his hands!) My kids are always limited to the fruit table, which they don't mind, but parties are meant to be fun!

To solve the party problem, I make this simple, yummy snack.  This is a perfect party food or a special afternoon snack.  I frequently bring a bowl with us to parties so my kids have something fun to enjoy.

Just 4 ingredients, this easy snack will wow your kids!  Mine devour it in minutes!