Sugar Free Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars
Looking to balance off those Easter cakes with a healthyish treat? Then, you’ve gotta give these Blender Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars a try! They are heavily spiked with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger and are refined sugar free and gluten free – read on to see what makes them so scrumptious and sweet.
Yesterday I told myself that I was going to practice listening and not just hearing…
And, for the first 15 minutes of lecturing in the Programming class I’m taking, I succeeded!
But, then the instructor started talking about binary searching modules and bubble sorting, and I was back to just hearing his voice and letting my mind wonder.
I know I shouldn’t. It’s not an easy class for me. Unlike the Web Development class I’m also in, it’s not a matter of learning code and using it to creatively balance elements of design. In this class, I’ve gotta wake up the left side of my brain that’s been on vacay for quite some time and force it to actually listen and understand.
Yesterday, I tried and tried to remind myself of that, but, failed miserably. Then, when I heard a techno beat pulsing from the headphones of the chap sitting beside me, I realized I wasn’t the only one whose thoughts were roaming. So, I let mine roam freely … all the way back home to my kitchen… where these Blender Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars were!
These Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars are based on these Blender Chocolate Pretzel Bars I made a couple of weeks ago. Since I shared those bars on here, I must have made at least a half dozen batches of them to share with friends, to take on our trip to Charleston (thankfully I didn’t forget these like I did those Caramel Chocolate Muffins), and to try out on my daughter’s 7th period classroom when I was a guest speaker there.
So, I figured instead of making another batch of those Chocolate Pretzel Bars, I’d use the same base of:
• soaked dates,
• ground up rolled oats,
• eggs,
• and coconut oil…
…in a different way.
Since we had a bunch of carrots hanging out, I figured I’d grate them up well, mix in some spices, some raisins and some pecans and make some Carrot Cake Bars that were healthyish enough to chow down on for breakfast. These smelled so good out of the oven that I didn’t let them cool down completely before I cut into them – hence the crumbs. I also made a second batch without any raisins that I let cool completely before cutting into – and y’all could probably make out the difference between the two in these sets of photos. By the way, these bars are totally refined sugar free and gluten free.
Now, I understand you might like your sugar and be skeptical. And that’s all right. The way I see it, Easter candy goes on sale on Monday and these bars are helping me balance off the onslaught of sugar to come! Besides, they are just plain delicious – take it from my daughter and her friends, you wouldn’t know at all these were sugar-free and good for ya!
Happy Easter and Happy Weekend, Y’all!
[Tweet “Blender Carrot Cake Bars #refinedsugarfree #glutenfree”]
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 10 medjool dates soaked in hot water for 5 minutes
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup coconut oil in it's solid state
- 2 tsps vanilla
- 2 tsps cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup pecans roughly chopped up
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- 1/2 cup raisins optional - can leave out and just add one more soaked date into mixture
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9x9 baking tray with cooking oil, then place a piece of parchment in it and set it aside.
- Place the rolled oats, soaked and drained dates, coconut oil, eggs, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and ginger into a high powered blender or a food processor and pulse till all ingredients are well blended.
- Add in the carrots, pecans, and raisins (if using) and, mix with a spoon/spatula
- Spoon Carrot Cake Bar mixture into parchment lined baking tray and bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Let cool completely and cut into squares and enjoy.
- *Can be stored in the fridge.
Looking for more refined sugar free recipes? Then check these out…
Girl, I totally know what you mean….sometimes it is so easy to space out. Have you ever read a book and then got so far along and then think to yourself ‘what the heck did I just read?’ Yeap. Me. I do that often times. It’s like there has to be an effort made to focus sometimes. I like your thinking about the Easter candy going on sale, so better buckle down now with sugar free bars. Sounds like a plan to me! Though, truth me told, I bet these bars are waaaaaay better than any Easter candy that I could buy. Plus, there’s carrot in there so it is basically a health food and I could eat as many as I want, right 😉 ?? That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Hope you had a fabulous Easter, my friend! Cheers to a great week!
Wait. You were a guest speaker and you brought treats? Can I sign you up to a be a guest speaker at my house then? And if so will you bring treats? I’m really loving the idea behind these carrot bars! You’ve got all of my favorite flavors going in there with the cardamom, cinnamon and ginger…and I’m pretty sure these wouldn’t stand a chance in our house! I hear ya about lectures, too. Why is it so easy to let your brain take a vacation and wander off when a professor starts droning on about sorting methods? Speaking of drones…I’ll leave my back window open this afternoon! 😉
perfect to have on hang for busy mornings!
The perfect breakfast/snack!
Cake for breakfast?! Sign me up! 😀
“that’s been on vacay for quite some time…” <— LOL. Yep, this is all me. LOVE that the real lesson was that it's okay to let your mind wander. Especially if it's all the way back to your home kitchen. Is there really a better place for it to go? 😉 These bars look incredible, Shashi!! I'm a HUGE fan of breakfast treats, especially if they're in bar form. Happy Easter!! Hope you and your family have a good one! 🙂
well you know I am on board with this. Blender… carrot cake… breakfast… HEALTHY dates as sugar! YEA! Can I come for easter?
Programming AND web development?! Guuuurl, look at you!!! I’d be doodling (or snoozing) about .2 seconds into those classes. Don’t get me wrong, I’d LOVE to learn about both those topics, but my attention span is diddly-squat. lol. Maybe you can learn for me? 😉 And then you can come teach me!! I feel like you speak my language, so you could probably keep my attention! ESPECIALLY if you bring a dozen of these bars!! These look delicious, Shashi! Love that they are super easy to make and carrot cake for breakfast?! Ummm YES PLEASE! Love it! Cheers, dear friend – to a beautiful Easter weekend! xoxo
Wow any kind of sweet treat you can whip up in a blender and bake has my name all over it. I love this idea for a breakfast bar and adding the dates and carrots for the sweetness. Looks wonderful.
Oh this is right up my alley. I am now starting to use dates as a sweetener and liking it. Gorgeous bars. Perfect to have handy
Grab and go bars are the best idea! These are perfect for a quick and easy breakfast!
This recipe looks very good. Love that you didn’t use any refined sugar to make the bars!
Happy Easter Shashi, Love those healthy bars. Using dates as a sweetener is such a great alternative to refined sugar, I just bought some date sugar that I can’t wait to try. Great recipe for a guilt free treat.
What a fantastic breakfast recipe, and I love that you can make it in the blender.
Gorgeous photos! I love all the spices. These bars look like such an easy and delicious snack.
Carrot cake for the breakfast! wow..count me in ,Shashi.