Blueberry and Greek Yoghurt Breakfast Bars

Blueberry and Greek Yoghurt Breakfast Bars

 

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Blueberry and Greek Yoghurt Granola Bars - a healthy make-ahead breakfast made with fresh and dried blueberries

Author: Nicky @ Kitchensanctuary.com

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• Breakfast Bars:
• 50ml/1.7fl oz Greek Yoghurt
• 50g/1.7oz fresh blueberries, light crushed using a fork
• 200g/7oz rolled oats (a gluten free variety if required)
• 4tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp. virgin coconut oil, melted
• 75g/2.5oz dried blueberries
• 1 egg white from a large egg
• pinch of salt
•  
• Greek Yoghurt Drizzle:
• 5 tbsp. icing/powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. Greek yoghurt
•  
  
  
  
• Preheat the oven to 170c/325f and line a 20x20cm baking tin with baking parchment.
• Combine all of the breakfast bar ingredients in a large bowl. Mix to combine and spoon out into your baking tin. Flatten and squash the mixture down hard (you can use the back of a spoon, but if you want to reduce the chance of crumbling then place a piece of greaseproof paper on top of the flattened mixture, place a same-size baking tin on top and really squash down hard. Then you can peel the paper off) ensuring the mixture reaches all the edges of the tin. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden on top.
• Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out of the tin by holding onto the baking parchment. Place on a chopping board on the baking parchment and leave to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars, using a sharp knife. You should be able to slice the bars no problem, but if you do find that the bars crumble when slicing, then place in the fridge for a couple of hours before slicing the rest.
• Make the drizzle by whisking the powdered sugar with half of the Greek yoghurt. Add a little more Greek yoghurt until you get a thick sauce. Drizzle this over the breakfast bars and serve.
• Leave the drizzle to dry for half an hour or so before wrapping and storing any remaining bars in an air-tight box. These bars are best eaten within 3-4 days.

Blueberry Vanilla Greek Yogurt Granola Bars.

Blueberry Vanilla Greek Yogurt Granola Bars.

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
• 1 1/2 cup brown rice krispies
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup whole roasted almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter (I typically use peanut butter)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (rounded) cup fresh blueberries or 3/4 cup dried blueberries

• Greek Yogurt Coating
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon gelatin
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar

 

Instructions

*Skip this step if you are using dried blueberries. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the blueberries on the baking sheet. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the berries burst and shrink. Remove from oven and let cool.

Line an 9x13 square Pyrex pan with wax or parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the oats, rice krispies, coconut, almonds, chia seeds and salt. Mix together.

In a small microwave safe bowl combine the almond butter and honey. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the mixture is hot and pourable. Add the vanilla and mix again.

Add the honey mixture to the dry oat mixture and mix until everything is moist and combined. Gently stir in the blueberries. Press the mixture into the prepared pan and then using the back of a measuring cup press the mixture into the pan until it is tightly packed. Cover and place in the freezer for 1 hour. Cut into 9-12 bars and return to the freezer.

Make the greek yogurt coating. Combine the water and vanilla in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over top and whisk with a fork until the gelatin is evenly distributed. Set aside for about 5 minutes or until needed. It will set into a thick paste.

In another small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, honey, and salt. Microwave on 15 second bursts, stirring in between each burst, until the yogurt is liquidy and very warm to the touch. Don't let it start to boil or the yogurt will curdle. I microwaved mine for 30 seconds total.

Whisk the gelatin into the warm yogurt mixture. Whisk until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Scrape the yogurt mixture into a medium mixing bowl. Pour the powdered sugar on top. Use a mixer or whisk until the yogurt and powdered sugar combine into a thick, but pourable, coating.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper or a silpat. Working with one bar at a time, dip the bottom of the bar into the yogurt and allow any excess to drip off. Flip the bars over so the yogurt coated side faces up and place on the prepared baking sheet. They will be very sticky. Repeat with the remaining bars. Let the bars sit, uncovered, until dry to the touch, about four hours or overnight (I left mine overnight). Cover the remaining yogurt coating with plastic wrap until ready to use again.

Once the bars are completely dry, flip them over so the yogurt coated side is now facing down. Transfer the remaining yogurt coating to a sandwich size ziplock bag and snip a small hole in the corner. Drizzle the remaining coating over the bars and allow the bars to sit at least two hours or overnight (I left mine overnight).

Once the bars are completely dry, store in an airtight container at room temperature.

*If you want an extra thick yogurt coating double the recipe for the Greek Yogurt and repeat the dipping process twice just as directed.

Cranberry Nut Bread - Sugar Free, Low Carb

• Prep Time
  20 min
• Cook Time
  50 min
• Total Time
  70 min

Great holiday bread, or for any time! Powdered egg whites are the key for giving it structure, but it's OK without it. (Tip: If you end up using a lot of egg whites, a less expensive source is to use egg white marketed as protein powder.) Do try the variation with cheese - it's really delicious, though unusual.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 2 1/2 cups almond meal/flour
• 1/3 cup powdered egg white
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar equivalent with artificial sweetener (liquid forms of Splenda work well)
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• Optional: 1/2-1 C chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1) Butter the bottom of a large loaf pan. You can butter around a little way up the side, but don't go too far. To make sure all goes well when taking the bread out of the pan, I like to put a piece of parchment paper in the bottom and then butter that as well.

2) Roughly chop the cranberries or pulse in a food processor. As a rough guide, each cranberry is in 2-4 pieces. Don't go finer or they get "lost" - they shrink during cooking

3) Mix the dry ingredients together (almond meal, egg white, baking powder, salt, sweetener if it's powdered).

4) Add the wet ingredients (liquid sweetener, melted butter, eggs, water). Mix well. (You don't have to worry about overmixing, as you would with regular flour.)

5) Pour batter into pan and bake about 40-50 minutes, until top is golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Variation: Cranberry Cheese Bread Add 1 and 1/2 cups of shredded white sharp cheddar cheese. Yum!

Makes 16 servings, each with 2.5 grams effective carbohydrate, 2.5 grams fiber, 6 grams protein, and 164 calories.

 

 

Cranberry Bliss Bars (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Cranberry Bliss Bars (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Bars:
1 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated erythritol
1 tsp vanilla extract
20 drops stevia extract
2 cups almond flour
1 tsp ground ginger
4 eggs
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

Icing:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered erythritol
10 drops stevia extract
1 tsp grated orange zest

1/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries (I made my own from this recipe, but you may be able to find them at a local health food store)


Preheat oven to 325F and grease an 8×8 inch baking pan. Line pan bottom and sides with parchment paper and grease parchment.

In a large bowl, mix melted butter with erythritol, vanilla and stevia extract. Add almond flour and ground ginger, stirring to incorporate. Add in eggs and stir until all ingredients are well combined. Stir in chopped cranberries, and walnuts and ginger if using.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool completely in pan.
For the icing, beat cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add cream and beat thoroughly, scraping down beaters and sides of bowl as needed. Beat in erythritol, stevia and orange zest until smooth.

Spread icing over cooled bars and sprinkle with dried cranberries. Chill in refrigerator until icing is firm, about 1 hour. Cut into bars or triangles.

Makes 16 large bars or 25 smaller ones. Total carbs for larger bars is 9.8g, and for smaller bars is 6.3g. If you subtract erythritol, large bars have 5.3g of carbs and smaller bars have 3.4g