Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

packed lunch

Coconut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Granola Bars

You can read my full review of Packed, by Becky Alexander and Michelle Lake, published by Nourish Books here. Today, I’m happy to be sharing one of my favourite recipes from the book, Coconut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Granola Bars, from the Get Up and Go chapter. These bars perfect for mid-morning munchies or an afternoon snack. I’ve also made these with dried cranberries and raisins, in place of goji berries, but goji berries pack the most punch!

Recipe and image shared with the permission of the publisher. Image by Haarala Hamilton. 

Goji Granola Bars Haarala Hamilton
Photo: Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton

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Yield 8 bars

Easy to rustle up, these bars are a good option when you need to eat breakfast on the go or for an afternoon snack. Almond, cashew or macadamia nut butters all work well to add protein and flavour. 

Ingredients

  • 100g/3 1/2 oz/ 1 cup jumbo/rolled oats
  • 50g/1 3/4 oz/ 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil 
  • 2 tbsp honey (I use raw honey)
  • 2 tbsp nut butter (of choice)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 3 tbsp raw, shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
  • 50g/1 3/4 oz/ 2/3 cup desiccated coconut/dried shredded coconut
  • 2 tbsp dried goji berries 

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a 23 x 15cm/9 x 6 inch shallow baking pan with baking/parchment paper. Spread the oats thinly over the parchment and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. 
  2. Put the oil, honey, nut butter and vanilla extract in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, and heat gently until well combined and the oil is melted. 
  3. Stir in the baked oats until well coated. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. 
  4. Tip the mixture back into the baking pan and press down firmly using damp hands.
  5. Put in the fridge for 1 hour, or until firm, and then cut into 8 bars. Wrap each bar in parchment to take to work. Store in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours.  

Notes

"Packed with...Vibrant red and intensely flavoured, the goji berry is rich in carotenoids and antioxidents that help to protect our eyes from damage. They are a little pricey, but they keep well and you only need to add a small amount to bars, porridge/oatmeal, granola or salads to reap their health benefits." 

Courses Breakfast, or lunchtime snack

Cuisine British

Recipe and image shared with the permission of the publisher. With thanks to Nourish Books, Becky and Michelle. 

Book Review: Packed by Becky Alexander & Michelle Lake {Nourish Books}

Packed – Lunch hacks and recipes to squeeze more nutrients into your day

By Becky Alexander and Michelle Lake, Nourish Books, £12.99

Packed_Nourish_Books

It’s all too easy to slip into a routine of having the same old boring sandwich or salad for lunch (and spending a fortune in the process) but this needn’t be the case with the release of a new recipe book called ‘Packed’ by food writer Becky Alexander and nutritional therapist Michelle Lake.

This inspiring book has over 90 ideas for nifty ‘lunch hacks’ and recipes to squeeze more nutrients into your day. It’s aimed at ‘everyone’s who’s had enough of cheese sandwiches’ – and yes, I imagine that’s quite a lot of people!

Nutritional Know-How

Michelle is Nutritional Therapist – Mission Nutrition – so all of the ideas are perfectly balanced to provide you with everything your body needs to fuel up at lunchtime. The book is bursting with nutritional advice throughout, so as well as following the recipes you can invent your own creations using Michelle’s pointers for the kind of foods you need to include in your lunch. Michelle writes in a very common sense, non-preachy way and this book is a far, far cry from some of the recent ‘clean eating’ obsession that has taken over of late.

I know Becky as ‘The Local Foodie’ – a St Albans-based food writer. Becky has spent a number of years doing desk-based work, as a magazine writer, editor and food journalist. Becky’s working life has often involved a commute into London, and therefore plenty of hastily-grabbed desk lunches. And although I know that Becky is a keen runner and therefore manages to stay healthy and trim, she also has to feed her family whilst squeezing in lunches around her editing and column writing. Her recipes are faultless and her ‘quick-to-the-table’ approach also really shines through.

Lunch Hacks

I love how practical this book is with tips for planning ahead and recommendations for the best kind of containers to pack your food up in. The healthy ‘lunch hacks’ are brilliant too with ideas for just making a few simple additions into your lunchtime habits, too. For example, adding the right carbohydrates, good quality protein, lots of protein and some healthy fats.

Although my own work is home-based and I therefore don’t have to face daily, often awful-tasting, pre-packed or processed expensive sandwiches and salads, I have been using Packed to liven up my lunchtimes at home, as well as incorporating many of the recipes into our family repertoire.  I even cooked a ‘Packed’ lunch for Michelle and Becky at my home, and I’ve also turned to Packed a few times when entertaining friends.

The books is split into five chapters covering everything from breakfast, drinks, snacks and every kind of portable lunch you can think of.

Haarala Hamilton for Nourish Books
Photography credit Haarala Hamilton for Nourish Books

1. Get up and go

– breakfasts on the move, muffins, healthy granola and overnight oats

Pimp your water bottle – with things like watermelon, cucumber, mint etc

We especially love the Coconut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Granola Bars, which you can make in advance, and keep in the fridge for breakfast or packed lunch snacks.

2. Salads and slaws

– delicious dressing ideas – love the Asian dressing one with sesame oil, apple cider and tahini.

– slaws – there are so many ideas for dressing up your slaws – from celeriac slaw to summer vegetable slaw with all manner of added goodies, such as edamame beans, peas, radishes, dried apricots, pomegranate, fresh herbs, pumpkin seeds and more.

Haarala Hamilton
Photography credit Haarala Hamilton for Nourish Books

We also had the Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea, Feta and Pomegranate Salad and the Smoked Mackerel, Watercress and Radish Salad from this chapter together for lunch.

3. Filling flasks

– chunky and smooth soups – creamy wild mushroom looks amazing and uses almond milk – also lots of ideas for portable noodles, stews, chilli and curries.

We love the Tomato and Butter Bean Soup (also above) and the Spicy Cauliflower and Almond Soup. As well as making a great lunch for me, the children love a mug of soup as an after-school snack. I also often make a batch of the Chicken, Root Veggie and Pearl Barley Stew in my Instant Pot which lasts me most of the week as a desk-lunch.

4. Fork free meals

– pate, dips and spreads – the Sweet Potato and Goat’s Cheese dip sounds incredible as well as all the deli plate ideas, sandwiches (Coronation-ish Chicken, Salt Beef and Sauerkraut etc) and sushi rolls.

5. Snacks and bites

– keep away from crisps with some of these brilliant ideas like Tamari and Lime Kale Crisps or Spicy Popped Chickpeas or if you’ve got more of a sweet tooth then the Apricot and Cashew Energy Balls or Salted Peanut and Raw Cacao Fudge are bound to appeal.

Overall verdict

If you’re keen to clean up your act nutritionally, and save time and money ‘Packed’ has a huge variety of inspiring portable meal ideas that should perk your office or home lunch right up.

About the authors: 

Becky Alexander is a food writer (The Guild of Food Writers) and food book editor. She writes a fortnightly food column for The Herts Advertiser newspaper focussing on seasonal, local food. 

Michelle Lake DipION CNHC mBANT is a registered Nutritional Therapist and has been running her own busy practice, Mission Nutrition in St Albans for over 7 years. She trained for four years at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition on its internationally acclaimed nutritional therapy course. She is a member of BANT (British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy) and The Nutritional Therapy Council (NTC).

 

 

Own copy, all thoughts and opinions my own. I was not required to write a positive review. Amazon affiliate link included. 

Pop back tomorrow for an exclusive recipe from the book.

Healthy Packed Lunch Ideas

I recently reviewed a Robbie the Robot lunch box, made by the British company Pink Lining, who also offer other beautifully designed children’s lunch boxes, satchels, bags and holdall bags, as well as baby changing bags and accessories. With the summer holidays approaching, there will be plenty of trips to the park and opportunities for outdoor eating. The start of the new school term will also, no doubt, be here in no time at all. With this in mind, I’ve been challenged to create a healthy packed lunch or lunch box recipe, incorporating plenty of fruit and veg.

Pink Lining Lunch Box

Children can quickly get bored of ham or egg mayo sandwiches, so to ‘liven up our lunch’ boxes, I very often make a new potato-based salad or a pasta salad, which can be portioned up into smaller containers ready to go. Our favourite is a miniature new potato salad, with cooked salmon flakes, topped with brightly coloured pomegranate seeds and cubes of fresh cucumber. Other healthy packed lunch ideas include small pieces of cold quiche or tartlets with seasonal vegetables, wraps, homemade fruity banana bread, cheese and marmite swirls and dips, such as hummus, with pita slices, carrot and cucumber sticks. I always add in plenty of fresh fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, or a large piece of fruit such as a ripe peach or pear. My children also like chocolate coated rice cakes as a sweet treat and a drink of either whole milk or oat milk.

Healthy Packed Lunch

You can buy lots of different types of lunch box containers these days, I like the ones with separate compartments, but little pots or plastic cups with lids will also do the trick. Most of my containers are baby weaning pots, perfect for little people’s lunch boxes, too.

Pink Lining Packed Lunch

Pink Lining Lunch Box

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You can read a full review of the Robbie the Robot Lunch Box by British-brand Pink Lining, here.

Pink Lining -8

This is a paid recipe commission on behalf of Pink Lining. Lunch box – Robbie the Robot RRP £15

More healthy packed lunch ideas