Some mornings I find myself rushing to leave the house before work, which leaves me with very little time to enjoy a nutritious breakfast. Often times I will grab a granola bar on my way out to tide me over, but so many granola bars are are full of sugar, saturated fats, and other not-so-beneficial additives that will leave you feeling unsatisfied soon after consuming them.
For this recipe, I wanted to bake a wholesome snack bar with a good composition of all three macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein, and fat, which will keep me nourished during the busy mornings that I am not able to sit down and eat a formal breakfast meal at home.
Each bar from this recipe will contain about 1 1/2 servings of carbohydrate (which will aid in fueling your brain and helping you to think clearly), about 5 grams of protein, and an abundance of the heart-healthy unsaturated fats, which will help to keep you feeling satisfied until you are able to have your next meal or snack. Also, the apples add a naturally super-sweet flare to this dish; so even though there is not a lot of added sugars in this recipe, you will still be able to tame your sweet-tooth cravings! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Rolled oats
- 1 cup Quinoa, (cooked according to package directions)
- 1/4 cup Flax seed, ground
- 1/2 cup Applesauce, unsweetened
- 1/4 cup Maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
- 2 cups Apples, chopped (core removed)
- 1/4 cup Pecans, chopped
- 1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped
Directions:
- First preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the oats, quinoa, flax seed, cinnamon, and baking soda into a large bowl.
- Next, stir in the applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla, and the eggs. Stir you achieve a consistently textured mixture.
- If you haven’t done so already, remove the peel and core from your apples. Proceed to chop the apples into small chunks.
- Fold the apples chunks, and the chopped nuts into your mixture in the bowl. Stir until the apple pieces are evenly disbursed throughout the mixture.
- Spread the mixture onto a 9-inch square baking pan. Garnish with some additional chopped nuts, if desired. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Cut into 9 bars, and enjoy!
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