Thursday, February 9, 2017

Peach Oatmeal Snack Bars (vegan)


A couple of weeks back, I shared a recipe for warm, buttery Peach Perfection Vegan Scones. Today I'm sharing another easy baking recipe that takes advantage of canned peaches. I like to use canned California cling peaches in baked goods because they are convenient to keep in the pantry no matter the season and the peaches are already peeled so you can sweep them into a bowl and have a delicious treat on the table faster than you can get to the coffee shop.

The key advantage to baking your snacks and desserts at home, besides better flavour, is knowing exactly what you're eating. No mystery additives or artificial flavours. Just pure, natural ingredients that come together to make a tasty and wholesome treat. Like these Peach Oatmeal Snack Bars.


These vegan bars get a nutritional boost from oats, flax, peaches and coconut oil. They are deliciously chewy and slightly sweet and make a great portable snack to wrap up for school or work. While coconut oil is high in saturated fat, it has now been proven to have many health benefits, including increasing your healthy cholesterol (HDL) and converting “bad” cholesterol (LDL) into good cholesterol. Coconut oil is also great for hydrating your skin from the inside out, especially in winter. If you're not a big fan of the flavour of coconut oil though, you can easily use vegan margarine in this recipe for a more buttery flavour.


The sweet filling of these bars is a natural mix of canned peaches with ground flax and flour. California cling peaches have no preservatives and are often packed in their own juice. Never fear that canned peaches won't give you the health benefits of fresh-picked peaches - research shows that canned peaches are actually higher in antioxidants and Vitamin A and are nearly four times higher in Vitamin C and 10 times higher in folate than fresh peaches.


I like to use a combination of quick oats and old-fashioned, large-flake oats to give the bars some body. I added a bit of cinnamon and ginger for a gentle warming flavour boost.


You could also switch this recipe up by combining the peaches with fresh or frozen blueberries or adding chia seeds instead of flax.


Wrap these individually in plastic wrap and keep them in the freezer for a healthy, filling snack to grab when you're on the run.

What do you like to do with canned peaches?


Check Out These Other Recipes Using Peaches:


Peach Pie Smoothie Bowl
Peachy Dessert Parfait
Sunny Peach Salad


Peach Oatmeal Snack Bars (vegan)



by Joann MacDonald
Cook Time: 40 to 50 minutes
Keywords: vegan peaches
Ingredients (9 large squares or 12 small sq)
  • ¾ cup coconut oil or vegan margarine
  • 1 cup rolled (quick) oats
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • 1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup organic sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 ½ cups canned California cling peaches, drained and diced
  • 1 tsp ground flax
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp flax seeds
Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper.

In a small pot, melt the coconut oil or margarine. In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon until mixed. Stir in melted coconut oil. Set aside one cup of this mixture.

Press the remainder of the oat mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together the peaches, ground flax, ginger and 1 tsp flour.

Spread over the baked crust and sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top, pressing gently. Sprinkle with flax seeds.

Bake an additional 25 to 35 minutes until golden on top.

Cool completely. Remove from pan by lifting parchment paper and cut into bars.

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*This post is sponsored by the California Cling Peach Board. All opinions are authentic and my own. Thank you for supporting the awesome companies that partner with Woman in Real Life.

6 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I'm so glad you like the recipe! I would keep them in the fridge for a day or two (at most) and then put them in the freezer (individually wrapped or in layers with waxed paper in a tin) for best freshness.

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  2. Oh wow...I love canned peaches even better than fresh ones – maybe I'm crazy but they always seem to have more flavour. Thanks for the recipe!

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    Replies
    1. I think you're right! They get a chance to kind of "steep" in their own juices. Enjoy the recipe! :)

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  3. Peaches are Bella's fave fruit. Definitely going to make this for her soon :)

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