raspberry & blueberry breakfast bars

Busy mornings are much easier with something ready in the fridge - no decisions, just grab and go. These Raspberry & Blueberry Breakfast Bars are made with oats, banana, peanut butter, berries, and pumpkin seeds, so they provide a healthy mix of fibre, protein, wholegrains, good fats, and plant nutrients in something easy to take with you.

Each bar provides around 10g protein and 6.4g fibre. I usually suggest aiming for around 30g protein at each meal and 30g fibre across the day, so a bar on its own won't get you all the way there, but on a busy morning it can be a much better start than skipping breakfast altogether.

They're soft and slightly chewy, but firm enough to wrap up and take to work, school or eat on the go. If you're eating at home, they're delicious warmed through and served with Greek yoghurt, fruit compote, a few chopped almonds or other nuts, or both. For an extra protein boost, you could stir a scoop of protein powder into the yoghurt.

They also work well as an afternoon snack.

Fresh raspberries are lovely while they're in season, but you can experiment with other fruit like grated apple or pears, berries, nuts, seeds and nut butters depending on what you have.

Ingredients

Makes 6 bars

• 50g pumpkin seeds (40g mixed in, 10g for the top)

• 300g ripe banana

• 75g peanut butter

• 80ml plant or cow’s milk

• 2 tbsp honey

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 160g rolled oats

• ½ tsp baking powder

• Pinch of salt

• 75g fresh raspberries

• 75g fresh blueberries

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan. Line a 20 × 12cm dish with baking parchment.

• First, toast the pumpkin seeds for around 5 minutes in a dry frying pan on a medium heat. Set aside to cool a little.

• In a large bowl, mash the banana until fairly smooth, then stir in the peanut butter, plant milk, honey and vanilla.

• Mix in the oats, 40g of the pumpkin seeds, the baking powder and the salt.

• Gently fold through the raspberries and blueberries.

• Scrape the mixture into the dish, smooth the top and scatter over the remaining 10g of pumpkin seeds.

• Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden around the edges and set through the centre.

• Cool completely before cutting into 6 bars.

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

• Approximate nutrition per bar: 306 kcal | 10g protein | 6.4g fibre

• Serving suggestion: high-protein Greek or coconut yoghurt, fruit compote, chopped nuts/seeds, cacao nibs, desiccated coconut, nut butter