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I had to make a healthy "goodie" for my granddaughter's school lunch last night, and I remembered a recipe I had seen on the blog of Camilla V. Saulsbury, whose delightful book "Enlightened Chocolate", I reviewed last month. I recalled that it could be easily veganized and I had most of the ingredients.
It was easy and quick to make, and full of healthful ingredients. I made them with tahini because they don't allow peanut butter in her school. It was a big hit with my grandaughter, AND her grandfather, and me, too, as well as a vegan friend (adult) who stopped by. This is definitely a keeper!
CAMILLA'S NO-BAKE VEGAN OATMEAL ENERGY BARS WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES, CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND ALMONDS
Makes 16 bars
This is Camilla Saulsbury's recipe, with my slight adjustments. View the original recipe here:
2 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal, uncooked
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup dried soymilk powder (This was instead of dried milk powdery--I used Better Than Milk Soy Beverage Mix, and they have a rice milk powder, too.)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (instead of dried cherries)
1/2 cup lightly salted roasted almonds
1 cup tahini (instead of peanut butter or nut butter)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
(I used the above combination of syrups instead of honey and I used less molasses.)
1 1/2 tablespoons dark molasses (not blackstrap)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Line a 9x9-inch square metal baking pan foil; spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl mix the oatmeal, wheat germ, milk powder, dried fruit and nuts; set aside.
Place the tahini, syrups and molasses in a heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly, melted and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the cereal mixture (mix until well blended and all of the oat mixture is coated). When the mixture is partially blended, add the chocolate chips (so they don't melt too much.)
Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Using a large square of wax paper or foil, very firmly press mixture down into pan to compact. (I used baking parchment and pressed it down with the bottom of another 8" square pan.)
Cool completely. Remove bars using foil overhang and then cut into 16 bars or squares.
Tightly wrap each bar in plastic wrap. Store the wrapped bars in a plastic zip-top bag in the refrigerator.
Nutrition per Serving (1 bar):
Calories 234; Fat 9.1g (sat 1.3g, mono 4.6g, poly 2.9g); Protein 8.4g; Cholesterol 0.4mg; Carbohydrate 34.8g; Sodium 93.2mg.
Thanks for the great recipe, Camilla!
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Love the recipe but the only dried cranberries I can find at WHOLE FOODS MARKET have sunflower oil on them, to keep them shiny and not sticking to ea other. I know we want to reduce processed oils. Do you have other recommendations or brands that do NOT use oil on their dried cranberries? Thanks
Sorry, Tom, I just buy them in bulk at my HFS. Also, I ive in Canada, so the brands might be different. I'll try to do a little research on this for future reference and let you know.