Hello Friends!
It’s been a while…I finally finished my Master’s in Public Health! My last two classes finished up on June 28th…and I was ridiculously busy! Now, I am officially back in the kitchen!
I have been working on an oat-based breakfast bar that would be an easy snack or part of an on the go breakfast and created this yummy Oat and Cranberry Bar. It is full of seeds too, to maximize the nutrition! My goal for this bar was to utilize healthy ingredients to create one nutrient dense (and delicious) bar. I think I did good. Let me know what you think!
Here they are…
This recipe makes 12 bars.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Makes 12 servings
- 1/4 cup olive oil (I used extra virgin olive oil but for a lighter flavor choose a light colored olive oil)
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond or vanilla extract
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/4 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped (select brand with low FODMAP ingredients)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare 8 x 8 square pan, lining with parchment paper
- In medium bowl, add oil, brown sugar, eggs and extract. Mix to blend.
- Stir in oats and oat flour.
- Fold in pepitas, shredded coconut, sunflower seeds, and cranberries.
- Add mixture to pan, pressing ingredients firmly in pan with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool, then cut into 12 bars
Esther
Kate – You did it ! ! !
You worked so long and so hard ! !
Celebrate yourself ! !
One amazing lady !
Heartfelt Congratulations ! !
Esther
PS .. These bars look wonderful ! !
katescarlata
Thank you, Esther!! Yay! I am excited and definitely celebrating! xx
Kate
karyn Markel
do you have a suggestion for eliminating the oil?
katescarlata
Sorry, I do not.
Shari Thompson
Kate,
Congratulations! Enjoy the benefits of not only having completed your program but with the time you have now have free from study.
Shari
katescarlata
Thank you, Shari! 🙂
Gem
What is the best way to store these? Would freezing them work and then thawing as needed? Congratulations!
katescarlata
I store in the refrigerator in sealed container. You could try freezing them…but I haven’t done that to test it out.
Chris Merlo
Congrats Kate! All the best!
katescarlata
Awww good to hear from you Chris! Thank you so much!
Cate
What kind of dried cranberries do you use? I have not been able to find any that are not sweetened. Also, because I try to avoid sugar at all costs, I’m going to sub about a quarter of a cup of pure maple syrup for the brown sugar. I will let you know how that turns out! And congratulations on getting your degree!
katescarlata
Hi Cate,
I use Decas Farms baking cranberries. They do contain sugar (which is not a FODMAP source) because cranberries tend to be a bit bitter and too tart without it. You can definitely leave out the cranberries if you want. And thanks!!
Cate
Thanks for the info and thank you for the recipes and all you do here. Recognizing FODMAPS has changed my life. My daughter even recently gave me a t-shirt that says, “Don’t feed me FODMAPS!” and it lists several dozen high-FODMAP foods on the shirt! I also wanted to clarify: I don’t avoid sugar because of FODMAPS. I avoid it because it has the tendency to make me shaky. I’ve found I simply feel a lot better all around when i eliminate it from my diet. For some reason, using a little maple syrup to sweeten certain foods or when baking doesn’t leave me with that jittery feeling. And thank goodness, I can still eat my one ounce of dark chocolate every day without any negative effects!
Donna
Hi Kate.
I have been easing my way into the low fodmap diet and made your above bars with what I had on hand which is coconut sugar. If I figured correctly, this is about 1.25 tsp. per bar. Is this ok or should I freeze them until a later time? I have purchased brown sugar for future use.
katescarlata
I think that amount of coconut sugar per bar would be fine! Just limit to one bar per meal or snack time.
Carol
Thank you for this recipe, Kate. I added 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds and 1/2 tsp salt, and next time will try adding some semi-sweet chocolate chips for variety. BTW, I love your Low-FODMAP Diet Step by Step book with Dede Wilson — what an incredible source of information, guidance and recipes!!