Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

These bars are good to have on hand in case you need to “grab and go,” or you need a pick-me-up snack during the day. Store them in the freezer so they stay fresh. This helps for portion control too. Protein from the peanut butter and protein powder, smart carbohydrate from the oats, and minimal sugar, make these a winner with me.

• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons oat flour
• ¼ cup powdered peanut butter
• ¼ cup vanilla protein powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk
• ¾ cup unsweetened plain almond milk
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Optional topping:

• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla protein powder

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×8 inch pan and set aside. Microwave the peanut butter and honey in a large glass bowl until smooth, about one minute. Stir well. Let cool a bit while you mix together your dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, powdered peanut butter, vanilla protein powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix well.

Add the vanilla extract and egg yolk to the peanut butter and honey mixture and beat well with an electric mixer. Pour the peanut butter mixture, almond milk, and mini chocolate chips into the dry oatmeal mixture. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. The dough will be thick. Press into the pan and bake until the edges are slightly brown and the mixture is set, about 20 minutes.

For the topping, melt the chocolate. Stir in the vanilla protein powder until smooth, and drizzle over the bars. If the mixture is a bit too thick to drizzle, add a bit of melted coconut oil until you reach the desired consistency.

Let cool and cut into bars. Makes 12 bars, unless you’re like me and cut them smaller, since I’d rather eat 2 small bars than 1 large bar.

Notes: To make these gluten free, I use gluten free oats and gluten free oat flour by Bob’s Red Mill. I use a vegan protein powder (Arbonne), which can be easier to digest than whey, and preferable in the case of a dairy allergy or dairy intolerance. For more information on, or to acquire Arbonne products, shoot me an email and I’ll hook you up.