School is upon us. That means the Internet is drowning in after-school snack and breakfast recipes guaranteed to make most of us mere mortals feel inadequate. But my idea of the the perfect after-school snack recipe is one that I can whip up in under ten minutes and makes more than one day's worth (cause, let's face it, I'm not doing this every day, folks), not fruit skewers shaped like cute animals or pizzas on a stick. A wallop of protein is a plus to recharge their engines for after school activities. Oh yeah, and it's gotta be good on the go, since we always are.

Abandoning the Internet after becoming thoroughly discouraged by homemade owl crackers that probably teach your kids French, we headed to the kitchen and created this healthier rice crispies bar recipe. This protein boosted twist on the classic rice crispies treat are sure to be the perfect way to welcome a kid after a hard day at school. You could even serve them as a sweet breakfast bar on the go. And it's a great no-bake recipe that even little kids can help make.

Ingredients:  
10 oz marshmallows
3 tbs butter
4 cups rice puffs 
1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
2 cups oats

1. In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and cook, stirring often, until consistent. Remove from heat and stir in protein powder.

2. In a large bowl, mix rice puffs and oats. If you want to be extra healthy, use brown rice puffs instead of normal ones. Then, pour in the marshmallow mixture and mix thoroughly. You may have to use your hands as the mixture can be pretty sticky.

3. Spray a 9"x9" baking pan with cooking spray, spread mixture into pan and pat down. If you want, add extra oats (r sprinkles) for garnish. Let it set for about an hour, then cut into squares.

These freeze well so you can make up a big batch, cut and freeze. Just pull one out an hour before snack time. I actually like them better than regular rice crispie treats because the oats give them a bit more heft and chewiness.

Show us what you make. Share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag @mommypoppins so we can see your creations too!

Kids' work is to play. WeeWork is a Mommy Poppins series offering an easy daily activity for grown-ups and children to do together, making kids' work an important part of your day. We aim to inspire together time, creativity and fun using only your imagination and things around the house. You can see all our WeeWork activity posts here.

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