Hello there friends! I have found by speaking with a lot of friends and clients these past few weeks that a lot of you might just have a little more time on your hands than normal to get in the kitchen and whip up some homemade goods. Many I know are still working, but given the shorter commute (gotta love some of the work-from-home perks) and the fact that many restaurants are closed, now is a great time to dust off the utensils and put together some yummy food at home. Plus, those snacks are only going to last so long, so why not add a few things to your repertoire that you can create out of pantry staples and prolong that next shopping trip?
Oats are something that I always have in my pantry--steel cut and rolled oats as they are both good for different preparations. After seeing that aisle in the store wiped out recently, I'm assuming many of you reading this most likely have some on hand, as well. Homemade oat bars are extremely versatile in that you can put some together with any number of ingredients you generally keep on hand. Though I used certain items I had in this batch, I'll try to give you some subs for what you might currently have in your own kitchen. Of course feel free to leave a comment if you have any particular questions!
Puffed amaranth.
I still have a bag of amaranth that lurks in my pantry, so I thought this was a great opportunity to puff some up in a pan and add it in for texture and a little nutty flavor. If you don't have any on hand, please feel free to omit! I know it is not something that I always buy but just happened to purchase a bag a while back to try it out. It works great in granola, as well, if you do happen to want to give some a try!
This combination was not too sweet, but had just enough fruit and maple syrup mixed in to satisfy that late afternoon snack monster that rears its head on me most days. With teaching more online classes lately I can definitely use a wholesome pick-me-up to keep me going for the next round of clients. Though pumpkin is usually reserved for fall recipes, I still have a few bags of roasted, pureed heirloom pumpkin in the freezer to use up. You can easily use canned if you don't have homemade, as canned pumpkin is another pantry staple I love to keep on hand. I'll toss it in oatmeal, smoothies, or even curries (like I have on the stove right now) to add a creamy texture or that extra hit of vitamins and other nutrients. It's a great way to get kids to eat some veggies without even realizing it!
Alright, I'm keeping my "chatter" short and sweet to get right to the recipe. I'm sure that's what most of you pop by here for anyway. Happy and health snacking!
Pumpkin Oat Bars
Makes 8 bars
- 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/3 cup golden raisins (sub dried cranberries, regular raisins, or chopped dates)
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (or any other nut/seed you like)
- 1/4 cup puffed amaranth
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (about 1 15-ounce can)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or date paste
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly oil an 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish.
Place your dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix together. Next add in the pumpkin and maple syrup and combine all of the ingredients. If it seems a little bit dry you can add a few tablespoons of water or plant milk. My puree was more moist than most canned I have gotten in the past, so I didn't need any extra liquid.
Scoop out the mixture into the prepared dish and evenly spread it out. Place uncovered into the oven and cook for 35 minutes. Let cool for about 30 minutes before cutting and enjoying! These are more of a soft bar, but I would imagine a little less wet ingredients would yield a crispier result. Perhaps an option to explore for the next round...
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Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to try this one.
Glad you like it! Hope you give them a try. :)
@tipu curate :)
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 24/40)
@trucklife-family here, yes we certainly need more healthy snack foods right now, these look really yummy. I love that you add pumpkin to them, I still have a few left from last year's harvest. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I'm hoping we can grow some of our own pumpkins this coming year as the homemade puree is soooo much better than anything out of a can! Always is, right? I think I've got one last bit of it in the freezer, so gotta make it count when I finish it off since it will be a little while before we get any more. :)
Hey there @plantstoplanks, I haven't been seeing you, so I wondered if you had crossed over to the Hive? I'm reading and commenting from Peakd which is a Hive function. I also just found and followed you on Twitter.
I hope you are doing well. Keep in touch.
Hey Jerry! Yes, been soooo busy lately, so really don't have a lot of online time unfortunately. I try to share here and there when I can, but have definitely fallen off commenting and being able to make my way around to check out what everyone has going on. Most of my work has transitioned to online with everything going on right now, too, so makes it even tougher to want to get on here when I am on the computer so much more already. Hope you are staying safe and well!
So far, and as far as I know, I am well, just bored outta my mind, which oddly makes me even more short tempered when I find I must contact some support entity, or (God Forbid) one of my Dr's calls me out of the blue.
It is so good to hear from you @plantstoplanks. Did you hear? I live in Smyrna now! Just a frisbee toss from the intersection of Windy Hill and Atlanta Rd.
I did a sort of "Foodie" post yesterday
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@jerrytsuseer/a-requested-by-artemislives-foodie-post-centering-around-okra
Oh, looks great! I want to make some :)
Thank you! I know you'd make a delicious version in your own kitchen! :)
They look delicious! I make a similar oat snack but with mashed bananas instead of pumpkin. I am definitely going to try pumpkin :-)
Yess! Banana always makes good ones, too. A few weeks ago I couldn't find any bananas around the stores here, so I thought I'd try a version without in case we can't find any again for a bit. They really are so versatile once you have the base recipe down.
That really looks yummyyyy!!
That's the thing with being at home... you tend to snack just a little more..
And I am not even a snacker...now I am!!
Thank you for sharing the recipe... and especially the pictures..looks so good
Haha, yes! Snacks all day when you are that close to the kitchen. Might as well make them healthy. ;)
I'm always saying you're a magician. You create things I've never heard of. This snack is another wonderful creation that in not only healthy but tasty as well I bet.
👩🍳
Aww thanks so much! All the fruits and veggies peeps always inspire me when you guys share, so it keeps me inspired to keep trying new things in my own kitchen. That's one nice thing about being at home even more--lots of time to experiment with pantry staples. :)
These look absolutely yum, I'd really like to try this, will have to omit the Amarinth, I have not seen it here. Take good care of yourself!
I'm sure you could come up with a great variation in your kitchen! That's the wonderful thing about these types of recipes--so easy to adapt to what you have on hand. All is well here as we have some beautiful weather this weekend to keep up with the spring garden. Happy to be able to get out in nature even if we can't go about our normal daily activities in other respects. Hope you all are hanging in there, as well!
It's taken a while to get here, but I love these. I also have pumpkin puree in the deep freeze and this is a great "other" way of using it. I was going to make soup... I also have oats and it occurs to me that I could actually use my homemade meusli (usually sold at the market) and honey with the puree to make these. Hmmm.... Now you've really got me thinking. As usual.
Fab ideas... :D
Ooh I bet your muesli would be delicious used in this way! I puffed up extra amaranth, so I probably need to add granola to my cooking plan for the week. I loaded up on a ridiculous amount of vegetables from my farmers again this morning, so I need to sit down and make my plan to use it all up. No shortage of time for the kitchen at least with my new 0-minute commute to work. 😉
I need to share my meusli recipe, I think. It's got dates in it rather than rasins/saltanas. It's mostly oats and coconut and has local almonds and pecans.
And yes, capitalise on the short commute constructively. Even if it's getting a little extra cuddle time!!