Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

Post by Anna

Everyone deserves the right to breakfast self-determination. But if you order oatmeal at a restaurant, I will probably judge you.

Oatmeal, like toast, is one of those good old simple foods you make yourself. And by make, I mean take out of a box and put in a pot of boiling water for 5-7 minutes.

One of the last truly cheap whole foods on earth, oats should be eaten in the comfort of your kitchen, or, in the instant variety, crouched over a camping stove. Loved by toddlers, geriatrics, and food snobs like me, it is food everyone gets.

As one of those people who is admittedly a sucker for buzzwords like ancient grains (aren’t they all ancient?), I tend to skip over the pedestrian oats in the morning for something a little sexier. But if I’m spending my morning at Joe Bar, feeling hypoglycemic and irritable, it’s this simple breakfast (with raisins and bananas) that saves me.

Also. Oats expand in water! A lot! We all know this, and yet there always seems to be enough to serve a fraternity. With leftovers, I have tried savory oats, vegan bread pudding, oatmeal cookies, and now, the project with the most structural integrity: oatmeal bars. This breakfast treat is filling with the addition of almond butter, and the cooked oats give it a chewy texture that holds up on the counter, with no perishables. Vegan certified.

So next time you’re at a cute café and think of how nice it would be to saddle up with your crossword and some oatmeal, just imagine how many of these bars you could whip up by spending a few extra bucks on a shelf’s worth.

 

Prep: 5 min / Cook: 80 min / Makes 12 bars

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 2.5 cups cooked oatmeal (steel-cut works best)
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes (or dried rolled oats)
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds, sliced
• 1/2 cup raisins or prunes
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. coconut oil

*Feel free to use whatever nuts, seeds, or nut butters you have on hand!

WHAT YOU DO:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and toast almonds and coconut flakes for 7-10 minutes (careful they don’t burn!).
• Place leftover oatmeal in large bowl.
• Add remaining ingredients, mix until thoroughly combined.
• Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper, and grease with coconut oil.
• Spread oat mixture evenly over bottom of pan — there will be lumps.
• Place another piece of parchment paper or foil over the mixture, spreading with your hands to distribute evenly
• Bake for 70-90 minutes, or until bars are of desired consistency.

*Bars will be chewy. For crispier bars, bake on a baking sheet rather than a pyrex pan, and place aluminum foil on top. After 45 minutes, remove foil, and bake the rest.