Healthy SOFT Breakfast Bars

 

Healthy Oatmeal Strawberry Bars

https://bananasaboutlife.com/

These oatmeal bars are perfectly crumbly and sweet with a simple strawberry filling. Enjoy for breakfast, snacks or a healthy dessert! Made vegan, gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free.

Ingredients

Strawberry Layer:

• 3 cups fresh strawberries diced (you can use frozen but let them defrost completely and dump off liquid)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1-2 Tablespoons lemon zest
• a pinch of sea salt
• 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch

Oatmeal Layers:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil solid at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

• To a small pot on medium heat, add diced strawberries, maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest and sea salt. Allow this to simmer for 5-10 minutes or until strawberries have released a lot of the liquid. Stir in tapioca starch and let it simmer for 1 more minute. Now, remove from heat and set aside while you make the oatmeal layer.
• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl combine rolled oats, almond flour, baking soda and sea salt. Once combined, add in maple syrup, coconut oil, lemon juice and combine. It may be easier to use your hands for this or the back of a spoon to break up any clumps.
• Set aside 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup of oatmeal mixture and press the remaining mixture into your lined baking dish in an even layer. Add the strawberry filling on top and spread this into an even layer. Now, use your hands to sprinkle the rest of the oatmeal mixture across the top of the strawberry filling.
• Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges turn slightly golden in color.
• After baking, allow bars to cool completely before slicing.

Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

Oatmeal Layers

• 1 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (solid at room temperature)
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest

Blueberry Layer

• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1-1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest (I used 1 1/2 because I like more lemon flavor)
• 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• a pinch sea salt
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons tapioca starch or arrowroot starch (arrowroot will make it more gummy)

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper (I like to use unbleached parchment paper) and set aside.
• To a mixing bowl add rolled oats, almond four, baking soda, maple syrup, coconut oil and sea salt. Mix to thoroughly combine ingredients. You can use the back of a fork or your hands to do this but you'll want to get most of the clumps out. After all the ingredients are combined, add lemon juice and lemon zest. Then, stir those in while being careful not to overmix.
• To make your blueberry layer, add frozen blueberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, coconut sugar, maple syrup and sea salt to a sauce pan on low-medium heat. Let the blueberries heat up 4-5 minutes until they start to burst and release their juice. Use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash blueberries a bit and then stir in tapioca starch. When the texture thickens (after about 1 minute) remove from heat.
• Now, it’s time to layer your bars. Set aside 1/2 – 3/4 cup of oatmeal mixture to sprinkle on top and spread the rest of the mixture across the bottom of your baking dish in an even layer. Use your hands or the back of a large spoon to firmly press down and make a solid base.
• On top of the oatmeal base, you are going to spread your blueberry mixture. Make sure it’s an even layer and covers the entire oatmeal base. Now use your fingers to sprinkle the remaining oatmeal mixture across the top of your bars.
• Place bars in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until oatmeal turns a golden brown color. When they’ve finished baking, remove from oven and allow to cool before slicing into bars.