Nutrition Information for Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

I love to put the reasons why I am interested in adding veggies to perfectly normal good food. However, I didn't get it done with my last post because my sweet little boy was needing some attention... so, here it is.

This is according to NutritionData.com:

Blueberries - This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Manganese.

Oatmeal - This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Phosphorus and Selenium, and a very good source of Manganese.

Spinach - This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Niacin, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, Copper and Manganese.


So, now that you can see the facts.. how can you deny the advantages of adding a little extra veggies to your diet? Especially when you can't even taste them!

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While in the waiting room at the doctor's office, I read an article written by some lady that is ticked off about parents "hiding" veggies in their meals. She thinks that it will not help them aquire a taste for veggies, and will end up backfiring.
I agree with some of what she said, but I don't think she looked at all of the reasons people would add pureed vegetables to their meals. I am adding the veggies to get some extra nutrition for myself and my family! I eat veggies but it's hard to get in the all of the servings that I need. So, I add them in for the EXTRA benefits, not to "hide" them from Braxton. Braxton eats his plain veggies just fine, but I guess it is much more of "hiding" thing for John - he knows they are in there, but likes to think they are not. He refuses to take a big bite of squash by itself... so if it's mixed in, he'll still get the nutrtion!
I think if you still expose your children to plain vegetables, they will "aquire" the taste for them. As a child, I complained about eating veggies just because they were veggies. It was a fight almost every night with my parents. But now that I am grown, I love most vegetables and will eat them in most forms (raw, cooked... etc). If my parents had "hid" vegetables in my food, I would have probably never known the difference, but still would have gotten the nutrients I needed, and perhaps without so much fighting!

Thanks dad and mom for being so great and sticking to your guns! I eat my vegetables now! :)

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

These things are absolutely divine! I could eat them every morning... and for every snack.... And the best part is, they are full of spinach and you can't even taste it! The key to success for these bars is to let them cool completely before serving so that any taste of spinach has a chance to disappear completely.

John and Braxton also enjoy these, although I don't think quite as much as I do! :)

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
(with spinach)

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c butter or margarine, chilled
1 cup sugar-free blueberry preserves
1/2 cup spinach puree


1. Preheat oven to 375. Coat an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add the margarine and cut it quickly into the dry ingredients with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do not over mix - bits of margarine should still be visible.
4. Press about half of the mixture firmly into the bottom of the baking pan. Set aside the rest for the topping. Bake about 13 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges - but not fully baked.
5. In a small bowl, mix the preserves with the spinach puree. Spread the blueberry mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top.
6. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the topping is slightly browned. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 12 bars

This recipe comes from the cookbook, Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.