Healthy Oat Bars

Posted in Vegan Baking by Vegan Mommy Dee

Here is my favourite recipe for healthy oat bars! I love this recipe that I came up with because it’s made with healthy dates and prunes. Dates have iron, calcium and fiber in them as well as countless other healthy benefits. Prunes also have fiber in them as well as vitamin C, A, K and they are said to be a good anti colorectal cancer food choice. I really like how the dates and prunes act as a sweetening agent in the recipe! I’ve added the option of adding pure maple syrup to them as well if desired. I’ve made them with and without the maple syrup and both ways taste really good to me. The maple syrup adds a bit of extra sweetness and of course a tasty kick to the bars though. I love oat bars because they are easy to make and can be a great snack to eat on the go! Another bonus is that this recipe is flour free too!

|**The bars do have almonds in them but you can make them nut free if allergies are a concern. **

Healthy Oat Bars

Ingredients:

2 Cups Gluten Free Oats
1 TBSP Cinnamon
3/4 Cup Cranberries or other dried sulfate free fruit of choice
3 TBSP Flaxmeal
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1/2 tsp – 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP Pure Maple Syrup (optional)
12 Dates (I soak mine over night to make them easier
6 Prunes
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds or you can substitute another seed

You will also need these simple items …

Food Prosser or high-powered blender
You will need a baking pan. Depth will depend on how thick you want your bars to be.
Parchment paper to line your baking dish or coconut oil to oil your dish with.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350
In a food processor add the dates and prunes
Add 1/3 cup warm water into the food processor and process until smooth. Add more water if needed until it’s well combined. Also add the vanilla extract and combine all ingredients well.
In a large bowl add the oats, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds and flaxmeal.
Add the cranberries or other dry fruit of choice & finely chopped almonds to dry mixture. Combine well.
Add the date & prune mixture into the dry ingredients. Make sure to mix everything up well.
If you’re adding in the maple syrup then toss it in now and combine well.
Line your baking pan with parchment paper or oil it well
Add the mixture to the baking pan and even it out well.
Bake for 3o minutes

*Let rest until cooled off before cutting into bars*

Enjoy them! I know I do & they don’t last long at all! 🙂

15Mar2013

Healthy Vegan Cranberry Granola Bars

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan Baking by Vegan Mommy Dee

I love granola bars and I also love giving them to my kids as a snack. I don’t however like the fact that the store-bought types are loaded with refined sugar! I’ve been playing around with different combinations of ingredients and making my own homemade granola bars. In this recipe I use pure Canadian maple syrup as my sweetener. Pure maple syrup is low on the glycemic index and contains manganese and iron which a total plus! 🙂 These bars are protein packed and contain healthy omega! Hurrah! I even eat them for breakfast sometimes when I’m on the go. Here is my easy and healthy recipe for vegan granola bars …

Healthy Vegan Cranberry Granola Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups oats
3/4 cup sulfur free dried cranberries
3 TBSP raw pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup flaxmeal
2 TBSP vegan protein powder (I used vanilla brown rice protein powder)
1 TBSP cinnamon
1/4 cup melted organic coconut oil
1 TBSP natural almond or peanut butter
3 TBSP brown rice flour
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 TBSP of flaxmeal w/ 3 TBSP warm water
1/4 cup chopped almonds or nut of choice

* You will need a baking pan. The size of the pan will vary depending on how thick you want your granola bars to be*

* Depending on how sweet you like your baked goods, you may want to add more maple syrup to your granola bars. I don’t feel the need for the extra sweetness so I only use 1/2 cup in my recipe.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F
In a large bowl add oats, brown rice flour, vegan protein powder, cinnamon, and 1/3 cup flaxmeal. Mix well.
In a small bowl add the 2 TBSP of flaxmeal with 3 TBSP of warm water. Mix and let it sit for a couple of minutes to thicken.
Chop up nuts or process them. Toss them into the mixture.
Add cranberries and pumpkin seeds and mix.
In a medium-sized bowl add the almond butter, maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix well.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry and combine well.
Use vegan butter/coconut oil to grease your pan or cut parchment paper to fit your baking dish.
Add the mixture to the baking pan and even out. Push it down with a spoon to make sure it’s tightly packed in.
Pop into the oven for 35-40 minutes at 350 F.

Once you take it out of the oven let it cool off in the baking dish before you cut it up.
When the granola mixture has cooled off you can remove the parchment paper and place on the counter. Cut the granola up as desired and place in an airtight container. If you didn’t use the parchment paper just cut it up right in the baking dish. You could also individually wrap them up so you have them ready to go for breakfast on the go or to toss in your lunchbag or purse for a snack.

ENJOY! 🙂

Easy to make healthy granola bars!

4Mar2013

Blueberry Quinoa cake

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan Baking by Vegan Mommy Dee

I’ve been on a bit of an organic blueberry kick lately! It seems that somehow I’m always throwing blueberries into my baking these days! These antioxidant rich berries have so many health benefits so I feel good about incorporating them into my baked goods. They also help to boost your immune system which is especially important to me during these wretched winter months. [insert rant] … Yes I HATE WINTER with a bloody passion! Stupid cold never-ending months of torture!

Ok I’m done now. 🙂

As I was saying blueberries have many health benefits such as aiding in heart health, brain function, helps reduce belly fat, helps with constipation and digestion and they are known for being natures anti-depressant!

This recipe is super easy as are all my recipes. I’m a mom of three and I don’t have the time to make fussy recipes! I’m also a strong believer in the fact that less is more when preparing food! This blueberry quinoa cake is also great for breakfast despite the fact that I’m calling it “cake”. Another added bonus is that it is flour free, so our waistlines are thanking us!

BLUEBERRY QUINOA CAKE

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup organic blueberries
1 cup quinoa flakes
1 cup almond or soy milk
1 heaping TBSP of cinnamon
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup or agave
3 heaping TBSP of ground flax seeds (flaxmeal)
handful of chopped nuts of choice or raw pumpkin seeds

Method:

In a medium-sized baking dish combine quinoa flakes and cinnamon
Add the flaxmeal and blueberries, mix
Next add the melted coconut oil and the maple syrup or agave. Combine well.
Throw in a handful of chopped nuts or my favourite raw pumpkin seeds
Add the milk and give it one last mix to combine all the ingredients well.

*Pop it into the oven at 350 F for 35-40 minutes. Let it cool for a while so it can set properly and you can slice it up.

NOTE: If you want your cake to take on more of a bright purple colour instead of having all the blueberries in tact like mine in the pictures you can give it a mix at the 20 minutes mark. The blueberries will be super soft and will release their beautiful bright colour into your cake. I’ve made it both ways and either way it’s yummy!

Enjoy!