A new year all bright and shiny like a polished one dollar coin. (And colder on the east coast than anyone has seen in a long time!)
This year’s good intentions start with a Vegan Breakfast Bar to counterbalance some of that brie and chocolate-fueled holiday indulgence.
The bars are like a cross between a granola bar and a cookie, but with less oil and added sugar. You can change them up by substituting pumpkin puree or mashed bananas for the applesauce, and any combination of dried fruit and nuts for the raisins and coconut.
Freeze them for up to a month for quick breakfasts on the go.
If you need some other ideas for breakfasts to fuel your resolve, here are some of my favorites:
Cranberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cake
Whole Grain Breakfast Biscotti
Start-the-New-Year-Right Granola
(And if one of your resolutions this year is to try to eat more meatless meals, here’s a free PDF cookbook with 52 recipes from Ketchup With That – one for every week of the year.)
I wish you a meaningful 2018 punctuated with joy and light.
You can easily adapt these bars by substituting different fruit purees or pumpkin for the applesauce. You can add nuts, seeds or different combinations of dried fruit. The recipe uses flax meal in place of an egg.. You can substitute another egg replacement such as chia, aqua faba or a commercial egg replacement.
- 1 tablespoon / 15 ml ground flax
- 3 tablespoons / 45 mlwater
- 1 cup / 250 ml whole wheat flour
- 1 cup / 250 ml oatmeal
- 1 teaspoon / 5 ml cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml salt
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml raisins
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons / 30 ml vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml applesauce
- 1/3 cup / 80 ml brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon / 5 ml vanilla
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 176 degrees C. Lightly grease a 9x9-inch / 23x23 cm baking dish.
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In small bowl, stir together flax meal and water. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
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In large mixing bowl, stir together flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins and coconut.
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In separate bowl, beat oil, applesauce, brown sugar, vanilla and flax mixture. Add to oatmeal mixture and stir until combined. The mixture will be very thick. Spread into prepared pan and smooth the top.
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Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool, then cut into 12 bars. Store uneaten bars in airtight container, or freeze for up to one month.
These look like a great weekday breakfast for my kids when we are all in a rush trying to get out of the house!
Yes – I find them good for that scenario, or for after school 🙂
In case I haven’t already said it enough times (because I basically say it every weekend), make ahead breakfasts are some of my favourite things in the world! These bars are exactly the type of thing I like to make and take with me on a long morning bike ride!
Make ahead breakfasts and coffee (and imagining that this year – yes – I will actually go on a long bike ride instead of just thinking about it while I drink my coffee and eat breakfast 🙂 ).