I was feeling a little bit experimental yesterday. I took the Blueberry Oatmeal Bar recipe and took away as much sugar as possible. It turned out amazingly tasty!
Servings: Makes 12 barsIngredients
* Nonstick cooking spray
* 2 cups old-fashioned oats
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup of honey instead)
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup Balance trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread , chilled
* 1 cup low-sugar blueberry preserves (I used 1 cup of smashed-up fresh blueberries)
* 1/2 cup spinach puree
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Coat an 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar/honey, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and vanilla and stir to mix well.
Add the margarine and cut it quickly into dry ingredients with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do not overmix—bits of margarine will still be visible.
Set aside about half of the oat mixture; press the rest firmly into the pan. Bake until lightly browned at the edges (but not fully baked), 13 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the blueberries with the spinach puree in a small bowl. It will be very green, don't worry, it turns blue during baking.
Spread blueberry mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Bake until topping is slightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars. (Once it's completely cooled you can't taste the spinach AT ALL.)
This is a healthy, filling, slightly sweet food. Perfect for breakfast!
Sadly, I didn't document my time with pictures, the picture you see here is the one from the book. Enjoy!
