Are your kids back at school? All settled in? How are you all coping?
My kids are dealing with the change of classes much better this year. Not a single tantrum yet. Me? After flying back into the country the night before school resumed, I’m struggling more than the kids to settle back into the tedium of washing/lunchboxes/ironing/nagging/homework/extra activities. Family life seems to require so much self-discipline that I’m never ready to embrace until the weather cools down. Actually even then I find it a bit of a struggle.
I’ve considered letting life turn feral for a while, just leaving the kids totally in charge of themselves, but after contemplating the aftermath of that for a couple of minutes, I find enough motivation to pull my finger out and return to my place as fat controller of the family.
And here, look; I’m even managing to bake goodies for lunchboxes. Of course it’s a lazy solution – a cake/slice that can be measured out with multiples of a 1/2 cup measure. I’m not quite ready for too much washing up just yet.
So easy, I barely noticed I was baking.
1/2 cup lunchbox slice
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup mashed fruit (a 140g tub apple puree is a good cheat)
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 cups dried fruit, chopped (apple, sultanas & pear are good)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 eggs, lightly whisked
50-75g melted butter – using 50g is healthier and it works out well, but 75g gives a more moist result
Preheat the oven to 180C, line an 18x28cm slice tin with baking paper.
Mix all the ingredients together, press into the tin evenly and bake for 25 minutes until golden.
Leave in the tin to cool, then ice…
Lemon icing
1 cup icing sugar
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
Sift the sugar to remove lumps, add the juice gradually until you have a nice consistency and spread over the slice. Leave to set in the tin, then remove and chop into 20 pieces.
Keeps well in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
Needing more help with the return to school? These morning jobs posters might be just what you need for smooth-running mornings…
Help the kids get themselves ready each day.
Finally, did you see that I launched my new Thermomix e-book? You can check it out here…
Jody said,
February 2, 2014 @ 12:12 pm
Would you be able to freeze this? 🙂 looks very tasty!
wendyblume said,
February 2, 2014 @ 12:41 pm
Yes, I think it would freeze ok – but not for too long before it starts to get a tinge of freezer flavour! Just a couple of weeks would be the limit, I’d say.
I’ve made it a couple of times and there hasn’t been enough leftovers to experiment with freezing 😉
Michelle Cicurel said,
February 2, 2014 @ 1:18 pm
do you think that the butter might be substituted with say flax seed oil?
wendyblume said,
February 2, 2014 @ 1:23 pm
yep, try about the same weight in oil instead. let me know how you go!
Elise said,
February 2, 2014 @ 1:49 pm
Just made it with my daughter. It looks great. She thought 1.5 cups of the dried fruit was a bit much so we just did 1 cup. Thank you for the recipe – lunch box snacks for the week done!
wendyblume said,
February 2, 2014 @ 1:54 pm
Wow Elise! You get my gold star of the week for first to finish. Have a great week. x
Lisa said,
February 2, 2014 @ 2:00 pm
Do you think it could be made without the eggs as my daughter is allergic?
Thanks
wendyblume said,
February 2, 2014 @ 2:57 pm
The egg in this is pretty crucial as a binder. Possibly you could try it with extra fruit puree and oil and a bit of no egg substitute? I suspect that it would end up a bit crumbly. You might want to make my gluten and egg free biscuits instead… https://vegiesmugglers.com.au/2013/10/14/the-best-gluten-egg-free-cookies/
Lisa said,
February 3, 2014 @ 9:05 pm
Thanks 🙂
Jo said,
February 5, 2014 @ 9:37 pm
I accidentally left out the eggs…. It was delicious, but slightly crumbly. It still got eaten in a day 🙂
katie p said,
February 2, 2014 @ 4:31 pm
Welcome home! Big O started prep last week, and thus ended my five blissful years of not being ruled by the school bell (I was a yr 1 teacher before having kids) *sigh*. I’m not grown up enough to be this organised 🙂 Thanks for this recipe, it sounds delicious and I’m going to crack it out when all the birthday cake from O’s 5th bday is eaten 🙂
wendyblume said,
February 2, 2014 @ 5:35 pm
welcome to school-mum-dom katie! I’m sure offloading one to school will lightened the middle of the day load for your slightly!!!
YY said,
February 2, 2014 @ 8:10 pm
I forgot to add the butter and the mashed fruit, and only remembered about 10 minutes into the baking process. I drizzled the butter over the mixture and kept baking. It still tastes great and the smell while baking was wonderful. I think the fruit and butter would add the moisture it lacks at the moment – but still delicious!
wendyblume said,
February 2, 2014 @ 8:26 pm
glad to hear im not the only person who leaves vital ingredients out of things! can imagine its very dry!
Sophie said,
February 2, 2014 @ 9:01 pm
This will be one that I’ll definitely be giving a go in the next few weeks. My baby girl starts Kindy for the very first time this Tuesday and I’m more than a little nervous! As for her… She’s counting down the days. Wendy your ‘Morning Jobs’ chart couldn’t have come at a better time. I was thinking of making one up and stumbled across yours… You’ve just made my life a whole lot easier 🙂
wendyblume said,
February 2, 2014 @ 9:08 pm
Yay! That’s the aim. Enjoy Tuesday – go buy yourself a congratulatory cup of coffee and sit still for a few minutes!
sandra said,
February 2, 2014 @ 9:06 pm
think i might try this recipe with the little ones tomorrow.. half the sugar, half the oil, stone ground flour, 1 c dried fruit, 1/4 c each of grated carrot & zucchini.
wendyblume said,
February 2, 2014 @ 9:09 pm
Sounds good, but I’d be wary of halfing the fat – could be a bit dry – definitely add more fruit purée if you’re going to do that. Report back!
sandra said,
February 3, 2014 @ 8:56 pm
I didn’t puree any fruit – too lazy haha! I used a mashed banana (1/2 cup) & the grated veggies added moisture too. Only 30g macadamia nut oil – thats all I had.. even with less sugar & fruit it was sweet enough.I baked at 170 for aprox 15 minutes. turned out lovely!! with a nice tangy lemon glaze too. Kids enjoyed it!! I cut up & put in freezer so I wouldn’t eat more!! YUM – thanks
wendyblume said,
February 3, 2014 @ 10:06 pm
Sounds great
Sarah Jane Haydon said,
February 4, 2014 @ 7:43 am
Thanks for adding your morning organisation charts. Not having to contantly nag/cajole/rant/rinse/repeat the kids every morning will definitely lead to a happier mum by school drop off and a more productive morning.
wendyblume said,
February 4, 2014 @ 8:51 am
glad they’re helpful! Of course after the novelty wears off, you may have to nag them to go look at their charts! 🙂
Emma said,
February 4, 2014 @ 10:32 pm
Yu-uuuum!! Miss 4 and I made this today – used mashed banana as the “fruit purée” and substituted dried fried for choc bits *gasp*! It is deeeelicious, and was so quick and easy to prepare!! Another fab Vegie Smugglers recipe! Thank you!!
wendyblume said,
February 5, 2014 @ 8:19 am
good to know mashed banana works too! thanks for reporting back, Emma. x
hannah said,
February 28, 2014 @ 2:58 pm
How about replacing the sugar with coconut sugar? Low GI cheers Hannah
wendyblume said,
February 28, 2014 @ 5:37 pm
This is a really flexible recipe, so I’m sure it’d be fine! If you give it a try, report back on how you go!
Recipe: Lazy Lunchbox Slice | Mum's Grapevine said,
May 1, 2014 @ 10:50 pm
[…] yummy lunchbox treat from Veggie Smugglers is a no-brainer. It can be measured out with multiples of a 1/2 cup measure – which means […]
beckoes said,
May 24, 2014 @ 12:07 pm
My 5 and 3 year old girls made it with a little help with the chopping! 🙂 I didn’t have coconut so chopped some almonds instead and we only had dried apple and stewed apple. Added a little over the recommended butter as the girls were measuring and I don’t mind a bit of fat 🙂 very moist and yummy! Top marks AGAIN!
wendyblume said,
May 25, 2014 @ 3:06 pm
yay! I made this last week, too, using some left over crushed pineapple. Was great!