Optimum Power Oat and Yogurt Breakfast Bars
Chock full of health-promoting goji berries plus sunflower and pumpkin seeds, these whole grain breakfast bars make an ideal snack or breakfast on-the-run. The acid in the yogurt reacts with the baking soda to give them a light texture and pleasing crumb.
Makes 8 to 10 bars
At Nature’s Path we recommend you use organic ingredients whenever possible.
This recipe was created especially for Nature’s Path® by Lorna Sass, the award-winning cookbook author of Whole Grains, Every Day, Every Way and Whole Grains for Busy People.
Ingredients:
- 3 pouches Optimum Cinnamon • Blueberry • Flaxseed Oatmeal, uncooked
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, plus 2 tsp. additional for preparing pan
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar, packed
- 2 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- Egg Replacer equivalent to 1 large egg
- 1 1/3 cup Vanilla Yogurt
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil, plus more for greasing pan
- 1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds, raw, unsalted
- 1/3 cup Dried Goji Berries or Currants
- 2 tablespoons Pumpkin Seeds, raw, unsalted,
Directions:
- Set rack in center and preheat oven to 375F. Brush oil on 9-inch square pan and dust with flour.
- In large bowl, combine instant oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a small bowl, beat egg replacer. Blend in yogurt and oil.
- Reserve 2 tbs. sunflower seeds and add remainder to dry ingredients, along with liquid and goji berries. Mix just until flour is absorbed; do not over mix.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan. Smooth off top and scatter on reserved sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Very gently press them into batter.
- Bake 9 minutes. Rotate pan. Continue baking until edges are golden and begin to pull away from sides of pan, and cake tester inserted into center comes out dry, 7 to 8 minutes longer.
- Set pan on rack to cool. Cut in half, then cut each half into 4 or 5 bars. Store in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
