Good Mood Flapjacks

We've eaten lots of Oats this half term holidays.   They're an excellent mood food, rich in B-Vitamins, a good source of Magnesium and Low GI.  

These flapjacks are pretty healthy because they're made with honey, not syrup BUT not low fat so don't eat too many if you're on a diet!  Great for the kids and the grownups.


Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 30-40 mins
Makes 12-15 squares

Ingredients
100g Butter
3tbsp Honey
200g Large Rolled Oats
40g Walnuts roughly chopped
40g Dried Apricots chopped into small pieces

Method

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4

2.  Melt the butter in a heavy based pan then stir in the honey until dissolved.

3.  Stir in the oats, nuts and apricots and combine thoroughly.

4.  Squash firmly into a brownie tin and bake for 30mins approx. until golden brown.

5.  Leave to cool in the tin then cut into squares. 

Tip
If some squares break up crumble them on top of yoghurt for a yummy breakfast or on stewed fruit to make a healthier fruit crumble for pud.

Why are they Good Mood Food?
Low GI - Jumbo Oats are whole grain and rich in soluble fibre so release energy slowly and these flapjacks are made with Honey which is lower GI than syrup so your blood sugar will not shoot up when you eat them.  They will keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Good for neurotransmitters - Oats are a good source of B-Vitamins and Magnesium.
B-Vitamins and the minerals Iron, Copper, Magnesium, Manganese and Zinc are needed when the body makes and uses neurotransmitters in the brain.  It seems that by eating certain foods, the available amounts of some neurotransmitters can be changed. This in turn can affect mood.  (In fact most antidepressant medicines work by increasing abnormally low levels of neurotransmitters thought to be associated with depression).

Word of Warning - NOT LOW FAT!
These are made with butter so are not low calorie.
.....although I did see a report recently suggesting saturated dairy fats like butter are not as bad as we have been led to believe: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2274747/At-truth-Butter-GOOD--margarine-chemical-gunk.html#ixzz2KISbO042

References
The Food and Mood Handbook, Amanda Geary: http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Food_and_Mood_Handbook.html?id=gE8t226wXhwC

Eat More Oats: http://eatmoreoats.com/health.html