Let’s face it. It’s been a difficult and exhausting week here in the United States. And this meant, for me, it was time for some relaxation. I watched a couple episodes of The X-Files yesterday (Mulder and Scully forever!) and today, I decided to bake something. And what better to bake than some homemade pop tarts!
You may wonder why I would go through the trouble to make homemade pop tarts when they will just be blended up in the blender anyway (except the ones I eat myself). Why not just bake up some crusts in any shape, bake them and blend them with some fruit since it would yield the same blend? Why go through the trouble of shaping them into cute, decorated pop tarts?
Because it’s fun. And if you’ve never tried cooking real, regular food for your tubie child, it is an extremely fulfilling experience. The drive within a mother to feed her child is so strong. Tube feeding, while we are indeed feeding our children, can often not “feel” as though we are. This can leave a very painful wound in our hearts. One of the wonderful gifts that a blenderized diet has brought me is the fact that it allows me to be a more active participant in the process of feeding my son. The pain and grief this alleviated and the elation it has brought me is difficult to describe. So, while you certainly do not have to prepare these kinds of foods for your tubie, it can be very rewarding.
These are so tasty! With just a touch of honey to sweeten them, these are whole food, whole grain pop tarts. These pop tarts are FAR more healthful and nutritious than the pop tarts you find at the grocery store. And since so many tubies are dairy free (as is Bradley), they are even dairy free!
I know this may sound daunting seeing all the directions. But, I had my pop tarts baking in the oven just 20 minutes after I began preparing the dough. They were so fun to make, and I’m definitely going to be making them again soon!
Ingredients:
- 4 cups white whole wheat flour + additional to flour surface
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cup coconut oil (MUST be in solid state) + additional to brush on crusts
- 1/2-1 cup ice cold water (as in, put water in a bowl and put ice cubes in it to make it really cold)
- 3/4 cup strawberries
- 3/4 cup blueberries
- 4 Tbsp honey
- 2 large bananas
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Warm the strawberries and blueberries either in a saucepan on the stove or in a bowl in the microwave to soften them. Freezing them prior to this can also help soften them even more. Set aside.
Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the coconut oil. This crust will not work if the coconut oil is in liquid form. If your coconut oil is in liquid form, place it in the refrigerator to cool it down and return it to a solid state prior to using.
Using your hands, mix the coconut oil and the flour. It is important to use your hands because as you mix, you need to squeeze the flour and oil together. Imagine you are forcing the flour into the oil with your hands. Continue this until all the flour and oil are completely combined and there is no dry flour left.
Begin adding the cold water, 1/4 cup at a time. Only use enough water to moisten the dough enough for it to hold together. You don’t want the dough to be wet. It should feel 
like an unbaked pie crust when it is ready.
Grab a hunk of dough and roll it out. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into rectangles. Continue this until all of the dough is cut into rectangles. If you cut them about the same size as store bought pop tarts, you should have 18 rectangles to make 9 pop tarts.
Stir 2 Tbsp of honey into the berries. Spoon some berries onto the centers of half the crusts. Lay a second crust on top of each rectangle to form the pop tarts. Press onto the edges with your fingertips to seal the pop tarts and then, press along the edges with the tip of a fork to secure the seal…and to make them look pretty. 🙂
Brush the top with coconut oil. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, 
place the pop tarts onto the parchment paper, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Allow the pop tarts to cool for about 15 minutes.
While the pop tarts are cooling, smash the 2 bananas in a bowl. Dump them into a blender along with the remaining 2 Tbsp of honey. Blend on low just enough to combine them and create a smooth texture. Once the pop tarts are cooled, spoon the banana mixture onto the pop tarts and enjoy!
If you end up with 9 pop tarts, each pop tarts contains approximately 471 calories, 7g protein, 40 carbohydrates, 7g fiber, 35g fat, and 2mg iron. Bradley enjoyed half a pop tart blended with half an apple and homemade almond milk. Mmmmmmm!!!
Crunchy Tubie Mama 