Enjoy a healthy start to the day with my Vegan Superfood Breakfast Bars. They are packed with superfood energy from mulberries and goji berries, oil-free, and with only natural sweetness.
A little while ago, I posted my Breakfast Bowl recipe: in coconut milk boiled oats with fresh fruit and nut butter. It is so easy but turned out to be a huge success.
Today, here comes a close relative to that bowl – my Breakfast Bars. I had been thinking about a new breakfast recipe for some time. Again I wanted it to be something that would be enjoyable to everybody: natural, vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and free of nuts for those plagued by an allergy – all without sacrificing taste.
Because that’s the deal breaker, right? Healthy food that have an awful taste? That can’t work! Luckily, it does not have to be like this!
Also, because I am a lazy morning person, this new breakfast option needed to be easily prepared in advance and I quickly decided that I wanted to make bars, something in the spirit of granola bars but not quite the same.
Two of the ingredients were fixed pretty early: goji and mulberries. These superfood berries have generally been found have health benefits range from a simple feeling of well being better sleep, and even weight loss. They are full of nutrients with low calories impact.
And I just like the natural sweetness they (mostly the mulberries) bring that is light on your stomach!
The oil-free aspect of my Breakfast Bars is achieved by using fresh apples and apple juice. Apples generally have heath benefits that are very similar to those of the berries.
Pureed apple (or apple sauce) also can serve as a substitute for oils in many baking goods. I combined it not with a nut-based butter (allergies!) but with uncritical sunflower seed butter. It’s also typically a bit firmer and therefore goes well together with the apples and apple juice.
I had been a bit skeptical about the apple sauce at first as well. But trust me, friends, it’s just the ingredient we need here.
How to Make Vegan Superfood Breakfast Bars
Here is what you need to do to enjoy a healthy breakfast: All the healthy ingredients are mixed with (shredded) gluten-free oats and a bit a maple syrup, garnished with more sunflower seeds. Optionally, you can add a pinch of cinnamon.
What is left to do is baking the bars in a baking dish for about 20 minutes. Let the Breakfast Bars cool and you are good to go. These are also awesome as a take along snack for the day, or before/after workouts!
I also like eating those crumbled with more fresh fruits and a plant-based yoghurt. So many possibilities to play around with for you guys!
If you give these Vegan Superfood Breakfast Bars a try, tag me on Facebook and Instagram. Show me a picture and your sunny start to the day. Later, Florian.
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Enjoy a healthy start to the day with my Vegan Superfood Breakfast Bars. They are packed with superfood energy from mulberries and goji berries, oil-free, and with only natural sweetness.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups (180 g) mix of mulberries and goji berries, soaked in lukewarm water for around 30 minutes
- 4 apples
- 1 cup (240 ml) all natural apple juice + 3 tbs divided
- 2-3 Tbs sunflower seed butter
- 2 Tbs Maple syrup
- 4 cups (400 g) gluten-free certified oats
- 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
- pinch of cinnamon (optional)
- big handful of sunflower seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C) and prepare a baking dish (approx. 11 x 8 inches) with parchment paper.
- Chop the apples coarsely and remove seeds. Add to a blender with 1 cup of the apple juice. Process until smooth.
- Mix the sunflower butter with the remaining 3 Tbs apple juice and maple syrup to a creamy and smooth paste.
- In a bowl combine the oats, soaked (and drained) berries, the sunflower paste, baking powder, and apple mix.
- Press the dough with your hands or a spatula in the dish, sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!
I love this! I am always looking for nutritious travel-friendly snacks for the kids and myself….especially during these summer months when we are always out and about. Gotta try these!
I’m totally with you Jennifer. Portable Snacks are the best when you were going out with the kids, nothing better than grab one and just enjoy! 🙂
I love the apple juice! What a fantastic addition! These look so great and nourishing!
Thank you, Rebecca! They are absolutely delicious and so easy to make.
these sound incredible! I love the apple juice – I often cook my oatmeal with apple juice, I can just taste these now!
I’m totally with you,Kristina! Apple juice is a ingredient that you can use in so many different ways!
These are the most gorgeous health bars I’ve ever seen! I’ve been wanting to use goji berries more often and I have a small bag of them in my pantry begging to be thrown into these!
Wonderful, Gwen! Let me know what do you think when you do!
Once again you’ve wowed me Florian! These are seriously gorgeous. Red is my favorite color and seeing the beautiful pops of red throughout these bars just made me super happy. I love using sunbutter and/or sunflower seeds for nut-free desserts as well and combining it with the apple juice is such a wonderful idea. I love to use apple juice in my baking because of it’s natural sweetness. This recipe is just a winner all around…natural, healthy, full of good ingredients and I bet, delicious! That last photo is so gorgeous (well all of them!), I just wanted to take a bite!
Brandi so glad that this recipe makes you super happy. When a recipe does that, it means something is right, haha! The red color adds a visual appeal (makes these more colorful) to the bars. I think first it is important a recipe should be tasty, for sure, but just as important is that it appeals to your eyes. It is absolutely fantastic what one can do with natural ingredients like apple juice or mulberries, which add a natural sweetness to the bars as well so you need just a little amount of maple syrup and you are there. No extra sweetener needed.
Florian, these are stunning. I would love these as a snack and feel great about giving them to my daughter.
So glad the recipe appeals, Michelle! These are loved just as much by adults as by kids
These breakfast bars are to die for! Amazing stuff Florian!
They were absolutely delicious and so easy to make,thanks, Levan!
I wouldn’t mind having these for breakfast – they look delicious! And I love that they are gluten free btw 🙂
Awesome so glad you enjoy this recipe so much, Rose! Let me know what do you think when you do!
I wouldn’t mind these bars for breakfast – they look and sound fantastic! Healthy too!
They were absolutely delicious, thanks!
I love goji berries! These will be perfect to make this weekend and have a yummy and easy grab and go breakfast all week long!
Goji Berries for the win, enjoy!
Wow, I actually learned a lot! While I’m not a fan of goji berries, these bars sound delicious!
I’m very excited to see goji berries in a baking recipe. I’m constantly looking for new ways to use them. I put it on my brownies recently: http://www.vermilionroots.com/blog/2015/9/adzuki-fudge-brownies-goji-berries