Despised cereal bars

I guess it was the way I was brought up, but I can’t bear wasting food; part of my problem is I overestimate how much people can eat and cook too much. I sometimes also buy too much or accidentally buy something none of the family likes. I don’t eat breakfast cereal, but the others do, and I made the mistake of buying  some chocolate orange cereal hoops (yes they sound horrid) The cereal was on offer at the shop, and it was a massive box and I was very pleased with my bargain purchase, until no-one wanted to eat it. I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away and wouldn’t give it to the birds as we used to, so in desperation I looked up recipes for using left over breakfast cereal. I was amazed at the number of different recipes I found – obviously a lot of other non-food-wasters had been busy. I found one recipe to make a sort of cereal bar, I tried it, and the despised cereal, now transformed disappeared like magic! Because I bought a big box, I had a lot left over, so when the cereal bars were finished, I made some more!

Despised cereal bars

• 4 oz butter/marg
• 3 oz clear honey or golden syrup
• 2 oz brown sugar
• 6 oz despised cereal, crushed by hitting it in a bag with a rolling pin, or just blitzing it in a blender making sure it hasn’t become powder but still has crunchy bits and texture
• 2 oz desiccated coconut
• 4 oz mixed seeds, nuts, dried fruit if you like dried fruit

1.  gently heat the butter or marg, honey/syrup and sugar in a pan over a low heat until the butter/marg has melted, but don’t let it boil
2. put the crushed cereal and coconut in a mixing bowl, stir to combine then add the melted butter/syrup/sugar and stir it all together really well

   4. pour into a lined tray-bake tin and press it down and into each corner, put into the oven at gas mark 5, 190º C, 375º F, for about 15 mins, or slightly longer. Leave it to cool in the tin (if you can resist) then cut into squares oor slices and consume