These GF Vegan PB&J Breakfast bars are a new favorite! The blueberry filling is beautifully sandwiched between the sweetened oat flour crust and crumble, making them perfect for breakfast, a mid-day snack, or after-meal dessert!
School is OUT!
And honestly, I’m not mad about it. Working from home will be a bit more of a challenge with both kiddos home full-time, but it’s not lost on me that these years while they’re young are fleeting. Already the thought of Brighton turning 7 in August has me feeling all sorts of mixed emotions. And with Addie nearly 5, they’ve hit an age where they share a lot of the same interests. Of course she’s not able to keep up with him on everything, but he’s growing in maturity, and has a new sense of tenderness towards her. Not always. They still fight, a lot. But they love each other fiercely and I’m so grateful.
Life Over the Past Few Months:
I shared in December, that our calendar had felt really full. All good, life-giving things, but full. It’s so easy to get caught up in the business and stop being present in the moment. Since then, our schedule seems to have only gotten fuller. My design work has really picked up, but aside from that, a lot of our time has been given to relationships. My husband went on staff at our church, as one of the pastors, back in November of last year. I’ll share on that more in another post. But I think we’ve had more people in our home over the course of the last five months, then perhaps the previous five years combined.
We’ve heard people’s stories, we’ve talked about hard things that matter, we’ve laughed a lot, and we’ve eaten so much good food. In many ways, I think this is what life is all about. Loving people. Lifting each other up, walking through the hard things together.
So Grateful.
So while I look back on the last five months and feel immensely grateful, I’m also hoping Summer bring s a bit of a slower pace. I think we’ll still have a lot time spent with friends, but without the need to hustle out the door each day with Brighton, I’m hoping for more relaxed days, soaking in the sun, playing outside with the kids, and impromptu meetings with our neighbors.
Along with opening our home to many new and old friends, I’ve done a LOT of baking. I guess it’s my grandma in me, but I can’t have people in our home without having something to offer them in the way of food. Mainly baked goods. Many of our guests are gluten-free and some are dairy-free and even sugar free. While this may stress some people, I actually love the challenge of finding or creating a recipe that is not only delicious but something everyone can eat, regardless of their food allergies and intolerances.
Which brings me to these GF Vegan PB&J Breakfast Bars:
I really wanted to come up with a treat that nearly everyone could eat. But of course I wanted it to taste like something everyone would want to eat. And in the way of a tasty, fruit-filled, breakfast bar, I think I did! I had a friend tell me that they reminded her of a blueberry fig newton and once she said it, I realized she was totally right!
Honestly the inspiration for combining the blueberries with a peanut butter flavor came from Naked Nutrition’s new PB Blueberry Vegan Protein powder. I had been using this protein powder in our smoothies for a few weeks and was loving the combo. The kids seemed to love it too and I realized it had sort of a PB&J effect. That sparked the idea for using it in a breakfast bar. I’ve been a long time fan of Naked Nutrition’s protein powders and was pretty jazzed to create a recipe around this new product. Their Chocolate pea protein flavor is another favorite. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the taste and nutritional benefits of every product I’ve used.
What I love about Naked Nutrition’s Peanut Butter Blueberry Vegan Protein Powder:
- Tastes AMAZING, the blueberry and peanut butter flavors pair beautifully
- Pea Protein Grown on US and Canadian Farms
- No Artificial Sweeteners, Flavors, or Colors
- Only 140 calories
- 20 grams of Vegan Protein and a Complete Amino Acid Profile
- GMO Free and Soy Free
- Vegan and Certified Gluten Free
I realize that by adding the PB Blueberry Vegan protein powder I’ve eliminated making this allergy-friendly for those who cannot have peanuts. You can absolutely replace the PB blueberry protein powder with their vanilla protein powder, or nix it all together and just use more oat flour instead. Still, if your family can handle the peanut butter, I think you’ll find these bars to be a hit with kids and adults alike!
If you give them a try, I’d love to hear your feedback! And for those of you hoping to step into a somewhat slower pace, here’s to being intentional and present – cheers!
GF Vegan PB&J Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
Crust and Crumble Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cup rolled oats
- 1 cup oat four*
- 1/2 cup Naked Protein Peanut Butter Blueberry Powder*
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp maple syrup*
- 1 flax egg*
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
melted but cooled
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Blueberry Filling Ingredients:
- 2 cups frozen blueberries fresh would also work
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp flaxseed 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
Crust and Crumble Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and Line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with aluminum foil, coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add rolled oats, oat flour, Naked Protein powder, coconut sugar and sea salt to large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add maple syrup, prepared flax egg, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract to bowl and stir until well combined. You should be able to pinch the batter with your fingers and it stick together, if it’s too dry to hold together, add 1-2 tbsp of water, stir and check again. Continue this process until you have a dough that sticks together.
- Add about 2/3 of the dough to the baking dish and press down firmly with a spatula, or clean hands, until the dish is fully covered. Set reminding 1/3 of dough aside to create crumble on top.
- Place baking dish and remaining dough in the fridge, while you prepare the blueberry filling.
Blueberry Filling Directions:
- Add blueberries (fresh or frozen) to a small saucepan, followed by coconut sugar, flaxseed, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk to combine all ingredients.
- Cook for over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer 1-2 minutes.
- Gently mash the blueberries with the back of fork, then cook another 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Mixture will still be somewhat thing, but will thicken as it cooks in the oven. See photos for consistency of filling.
- Pour prepared blueberry filling over the crust, then crumble remaining dough evenly over blueberry filling.
- Bake 30-32 minutes or until crumble on top turns golden brown.
- Cool in baking dish for 10 minutes, then using line aluminum foil, lift from dish and cool on rack. Allow to fully cool before cutting so blueberry filling has time to set.
- Cut into 16 pieces and enjoy! Store in airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days or in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
- You can make your own oat flour by blending 1 cup rolled oats in a high speed blender or nutribullet until a smooth flour-like consistency is reached.
- Additional oat flour can be used in place of protein powder.
- Can use honey in place of maple syrup.
- For Flax Egg: mix 1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 3 tbsp water and let sit 5 minutes to gel.
Nutrition
This post is sponsored by Naked Nutrition, but all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that keep Lemons and Basil in action!
Recipe adapted from The Conscious Plant Kitchen.