These days I haven't had much time to sit down and eat breakfast. Up at 5am, stumble in the dark to find an outfit that matches, brush teeth, brush hair, grab car keys- stumble out the door. Now, I don't think I've ever skipped breakfast (in my life)- so that's not the issue. However, I've been grabbing a protein bar, shoveling a banana, and am promptly hungry 1 hour later. What's a hungry flexitalliean to do?
You can probably tell I'm a huge oat(meal) fan, and I love granola, nuts, and trail mix. Whole grains, omega 3s, protein, fiber- I'm sold! I perused a million recipes but here is what I concocted:
Trail Mix Fruit+Nut Breakfast Bars (based on KathEat's Baked Oatmeal Snack Bars)
Dry:
2 cups rolled oats
1/8 cup (3 TBSP) brown sugar
1 TBSP cane sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 TBSP flaxseed
1/4 cup chopped unsalted cashews
1/4 cup chopped unsalted pecans/walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries (mine were orange flavored from TJs)
3 TBSP dark chocolate chips
3 TBSP sliced almonds
Wet:
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla stevia (or vanilla extract)
1/8 cup liquid egg whites (or 1 egg)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin tins w/liners or spray w/ non-stick cooking spray.
2. Pour dry ingredients into one bowl and mix. Pour wet ingredients in a second bowl and mix. Pour wet into dry, stir until combined.
3. Pour mixture into individual muffin tins. Press with fingers til flattened.
4. Bake at 350 F for ~30 mins.
5. Try to stop yourself from eating them until they're cool- I may or may not have burnt my tongue ;-).
I plan to grab a few of these for breakfast from now on. I love how I can get all my favorite things- protein, fiber, healthy fats, iron, and chocolate- in just a few filling bites. This one's a keeper :-)
Cheers to healthy breakfast,
Allie