Breakfast Oatmeal Bars. Vegan. Gluten Free.

Wednesday turned out to be a bust. I was unsure if I was going to run and we had thunderstorms from 1-7 am and with my sweet dog a bit uneasy during this 6 hour period laying on top of me… I decided to bag the day for working out and take a rest day. Plus Thursday and Friday were going to have cooler temperatures –HELLO lovely weather let’s do some running! So I worked in the kitchen and literally threw these bars together and prayed that they turned out. They did – big time! I ate 2.5 of them. I never do that but they are so dang good! Then my husband came home and proceeded to text me (I was driving kids around) letting me know that he ate 2 bars too and couldn’t stop. The topping is pretty versatile – I’ll make a list of some toppings that would work nicely. These bars are kid/teen and adult approved. Gluten and dairy free. Refined sugar free. Oh so addictive. Next time I whip these up I’m going for vegan chocolate, cacao nibs and nuts!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups of rolled oats (Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free)
1 cups of whole raw almonds
2 bananas (I used larger, ripe bananas)
1/4 cup of Vega Sport Vanilla Protein Powder
5 tablespoons of maple syrup or you can try very soft Medjool dates (4-5) pitted
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of salt

Optional toppings:
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Rolled oats
Walnuts (chopped)
Pistachios (chopped)
Raisins
Cacao nibs
Vegan chocolate chips
Banana slices
Dried fruit (I used dried tart cherries)
Hemp seeds
Chia seeds
Flax meal

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray your 8×8 glass pan with spray (I used coconut oil) or line with parchment – set that aside. Into your food processor add all of your ingredients (minus toppings) and blend until creamy. Pour that into your prepared pan and add your toppings that you wish to use. I used pumpkin and sunflower seeds, oats, black walnut pieces, chia and dried tart cherries. Press the toppings into the batter and then place into the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top and edges are golden. I neglected to pay attention to the time on this one but watch until it’s a lovely golden top. Once completely cooled, I slice in half. Then repeat in half again and keep going until you have 8 equal sized bars. The texture is a lovely cakey-type bar that is perfection for breakfast or a healthy snack. A 9×9 pan would yield a thinner bar that would require less baking time 28-32 minutes or so.