Gluten Free Apricot Oat Bars + Back To School with P&G
This post was sponsored by P&G as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I can’t believe we are already preparing for back to school! It seems like the kids literally JUST had their last day! It’s less than two weeks until they are headed back to school, so we are busy preparing. One of the things I love to do most with my 10-year-old daughter, is bake. We have to eat gluten free and have some other food restrictions, so we are constantly trying to come up with new and exciting things for her school lunches and class parties. She loves to try new recipes, and she has fun making baked goods with only a little help and guidance from me.
I’m a little particular about baking. I feel like my creative flow is stifled in a dirty or messy kitchen, so I have to clean first. (Is that weird?) Of course that includes using what I consider the most important cleaning tool ever, the Mr Clean Magic Eraser. There is no faster, or easier way that I can clean my stove top, which is my prep surface for baking.
Costco is my favorite place to shop for Procter & Gamble cleaning supplies, and stock up on all of our back to school needs. I can get cleaning supplies and ingredients for baking, but in addition, we love to help out our classrooms and purchase extra paper products and school supplies. I would much rather shop once, and stock up so I can have more time to create in the kitchen with my daughter, and enjoy the last moments of summer vacation!
We recently have been loving Gluten Free Oatmeal Fruit Bars. They are a great combination of flavors and textures. We love them with apricot, raspberry, or blackberry jam.
Once the bars are in the oven, we get to work on cleaning up the dishes and the mess we’ve made in the kitchen. I don’t mess around with soaking pans or pre-washing my dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. I am a loyal user of Dawn Platinum Advanced Power dishwashing liquid for my hand washed items (BONUS TIP: It’s great for cleaning makeup brushes!). Everything that I can put in the dishwasher, gets clean the first time with Cascade Complete Action Pacs, which has the grease fighting power of Dawn. By using these products, I save time and effort. I’d much rather be creating beautiful recipes in the kitchen with my daughter, than stuck washing and re-washing dishes!
A few other tips I have to make back to school easier, is to bake ahead! Mornings are hard enough, but getting back in the groove of getting the kids up early, dressed, and feeding them a healthy breakfast is TOUGH. One way to make the first few weeks of school a little easier, is to make their favorite breakfast foods now and pop them in the freezer. For my kids this would be blueberry muffins, waffles, and banana bread. I feel good sending them off to school once they’ve had a great home cooked breakfast, and have energy for the day ahead.
Kitchen clean up was quick and easy, thanks to P&G Household Needs products available at Costco! I’d love to hear your back to school tips below, please feel free to leave a comment!
