Half-Baked Date & Oat Bars.....so good you'll need to freeze them

Oat bars.....healthy right? Often, no. Majorly unhealthy. Starbucks Oat Bar will run you 360 calories, 20g of fat and 45g of carbs....yikes! Last night I made my first venture into baking without eggs and dairy, all while using a vegan protein source and I have to admit, I was afraid....but after tasting these bad boys, I'm pretty freakin' impressed with myself (insert pat-on-back here).

For my baking adventure I whipped up a Date & Oatmeal Bar that is totally fitness friendly and great for those friends with dietary allergies because they are gluten, dairy and egg free! Enjoy....it's so easy I promise you won't be able to mess it up!

Half-Baked Date & Oat Bars
makes 16 bars

Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 3 cups of unflavoured or vanilla harmonized vegan protein (or any brown rice based protein powder - the texture makes the baking much more moist than when using a whey protein. If you choose to use whey, cooking time will likely be reduced, and the overall product will have a more dry texture)
- 1/2 cup flax meal
- 1 cup water
- 1.25 cups pure canned pumpkin
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp honey
- 15 dates, chopped
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 small ripe banana

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set up the middle rack.
2) Grind oats in a blender until a flour is formed.
3) Combine oats with protein powder and mix well.

4) In another small dish combine flax meal with water (this is a great way to substitute eggs in baking). Let it sit for approx 3-5 minutes until it forms a gel-like appearance. This step is really important - you want the flax to soak up the water before combining it with the other ingredients.

5) In another bowl, mash banana thoroughly.
6) Add pumpkin, vanilla and honey.

7) Fold in dry oat and protein mixture and add almond milk slowly until batter is well blended. Batter should be quite thick so add almond milk as required for proper consistency.

8) Fold in dates.
9) Distribute batter either in mini loaf pans (that's what I used and then sliced each loaf in half) or in silicon cupcake containers. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. This will leave the middle of the bars gooey and moist (hence the name 'half-baked') - so if you want them more dry, cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. Also, if you choose to make it in a 'brownie-pan' decreased cooking temperature to 325 and cook for approximately 20 minutes longer.

Great grab-and-go breakfast or snack option! Store in an airtight for 3-4 days, or freeze them individually if you want them to last longer! And a 'side'note.....my fav way of eating them? Heated up with some almond butter spread over the top! YUM

Calories per bar: 118; fat 2g; carbs 19g; fibre 4g; protein 7g;