Almond Butter Oat Bars
These oat-packed bars are a great snack or even breakfast with a piece of fruit. One bowl is all you need! They can be cooked in a pan or individual muffin or mini-muffin pan for portion control (which I need around them!). Use natural nut butter and canola oil for heart healthy fats and whole wheat flour and ground flaxseed for extra fiber.
Why is flaxseed good for you?
- High in omega-3 fatty acids - heart healthy
- High in lignans - antioxidants
- High in fiber - both soluble and insoluble fiber
Its best to buy ground flaxseed or grind it yourself. Eaten in its whole form it often passes through our bodies undigested, robbing us of its nutritional benefit. I like to buy it already ground and then keep it in the freezer so it doesn't oxidize and lose its nutritional power.
Almond Butter Oat Bars
Almond Butter Oat Bars
Ingredients
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup light brown sugar
1 cup old-fashioned (regular) oats
2 Tbsp flaxseed, ground
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1/3 cup canola oil
½ cup almond butter (or natural peanut butter)
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine the flour, sugar, oats, flaxseed, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Stir in the canola oil, almond butter, egg and milk.
Press into an ungreased 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan (or muffin or mini-muffin) pan and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are browned. Place on a wire rack to cool. If baked in a muffin pan, turn muffins out onto wire rack to cool.
Makes 9 bars or about 24 mini-muffins
Recipe adapted from Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Bars in The Pink Ribbon Diet