Peanut Butter Oat Breakfast Bars
These Simply Nutty Bars aka Peanut Butter Oat Breakfast Bars happen to be refined sugar free as well as dairy free ~ curious to find out what goes into ’em? Then read on, my friends!
Today, if y’all don’t mind, I’m gonna take y’all back to the evening of March 30th. That evening, I was piddling around in my kitchen when my mom texted me to tell me to turn on my TV to a local news channel. And, so I did…only to see flames engulfing what the local news anchor was saying was an I-85 bridge. Now, I-85 runs from the Northern tip of Georgia to its Southern tip, with overpasses and bridges scattered through it.
Y’all, there are some days when it has felt like 4,700,000 of Atlanta’s 5,700,000+ people are on it. So – when they announced that it was going to be closed down entirely and traffic rerouted because of the fire…I was gobsmacked!
While I used to use it everyday when I worked in the corporate world, these days, I only depend on it when I leave my neck of suburbia to visit my mom in town or get to the airport. Speaking of the airport, I’ve gotta do a little re-routing myself. So, would you take a little detour with me to that time I made it to The Everything Food Conference in Salt Lake City?
While I was at the conference, I had the good fortune to sit down with a lovely lady from Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter. Now, I’ve enjoyed Crazy Richard’s Almond Butter before, but I was not familiar with their peanut butter and this lady proceeded to pull out and start kneading a portable pack of Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter. As we talked about how Crazy Richard’s is involved in Blessings in a Bag and several such charities, she ripped off a corner of that pack and handed it to me to have a taste.
Y’all – that peanut butter was good! Real good! But, I was sure it had sugar in it. When I inquired, I was gobsmacked when I was told that there was only one ingredient in their peanut butter – and that was peanuts! I was sent home with a large box of Crazy Richard’s Portable Packs of Peanut Butter which I figured I would use to make some “traffic-snacks” for my daughter and I.
As it’s taken my daughter and I almost 2 hours to go about 30 miles to visit her grandma, I figured we could do with some traffic snacks that didn’t drive us too batty. Since I made those Chocolate Pretzel Bars awhile back, I’ve been experimenting with modified versions of them. These Simply Nutty Bars aka Peanut Butter Oat Breakfast Bars were the result of my experimenting, and I gotta say, my daughter and I were pretty pleased with them.
While these bars have no refined sugar, they do have sugar from the dates in them which might not make them the best choice for a diabetic. But, with an ingredient list that includes oats, coconut oil, dates, Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs, these didn’t give us a sugar rush while we are playing in traffic.
Of course, as fate may have it, shortly after I made these bars, they reopened the part of I-85 that was shut down – way, way ahead of schedule…which had us turn these Simply Nutty traffic snack bars into Peanut Butter Oat Breakfast Bars! 😉
[Tweet “Simply Nutty Bars aka Peanut Butter Oat Breakfast Bars @CrazyRichardsPB #crazyrichardspb”]
I sure do hope y’all get to piddle around in the kitchen and experiment with healthier bars like these Simply Nutty Bars aka Peanut Butter Oat Breakfast Bars – the fact that they taste the way they do, sans butter, flour and sugar just might leave ya gobsmacked!
If you would like to learn more about Crazy Richard’s, please do check them out on:
Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram.
*This is not a sponsored post, I am kinda enamored by Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter and what they stand for, so I simply had to share.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats gluten free variety
- 1/2 cup coconut oil solid/ at room temperature
- 12 medjool dates
- 1/4 cup Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tspns vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 2 tspns Each - pecans peanuts, oats, chopped dates as topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Add the dates to a bowl of warm water and let soak a few minutes till soft (if water is hot it takes about 3-5 minutes, unless dates are super dry, then might take 10 minutes).
- Place rolled oats, coconut oil, soaked dates, peanut butter, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs to a high powered blender or food processor and blend till well incorporated - mixture will be slightly runny.
- Pour mix into parchment lined baking tray (I used an 8x8 baking pan).
- Top with pecans, peanuts, oats, and chopped dates and bake for 33-35 minutes.
- Let cool completely ( I was impatient and showed mine in the fridge). Then cut up into 8 bars and enjoy.
Nutrition
They look super duper delicious! Do I have to blend everything until smooth? Or just incorporated?
A huge YES to having these for breakfast. They sound delicious, particularly with cinnamon and nuts.
Agreed! Best breakfast ever. Been eating scrambled eggs for 14 years straight and I’m sick of them!!! Yuck.
I can’t imagine driving in Atlanta when they had the interstate closed! These bars would definitely make it better!
These look and sound delicious! I’d happily eat these for breakfast 😉
These looks super chewy and delicious and a real POWER bar! Sometimes you just need a little quick protein packed snack to get you through the day and this would be perfect. Traffic in Atlanta is maddening when the expressways are open. Don’t even want to think about what it would be like during construction or closed.
I love homemade snacks and these bars look delicious. Must try making them!
I love this recipe, it includes some of my favorite snacks like pure peanut butter and medjool dates. I make my own peanut butter at home, just peanuts and maybe a bit of salt. I’ve always found peanut butter disgusting until I’ve made it myself, I find that sweet version of it which can be bought everywhere unpalatable.
Haha! Gobsmacked is such a great word. Just had to point that out! So they’ve already reopened that portion of 85? That is crazy ahead of schedule! They must have worked around the clock…and that is SO unlike Atlanta. Hah! I remember seeing that on the news up here, too. It made national news for sure, and I remember thinking, “oh man, that is going to be a huge headache for the Monday morning commute.” These bars would have been the perfect thing to pack for a car trip…especially when dealing with traffic. (I’m actually having a minor breakdown right now just remembering driving in Atlanta. Haha!) That Crazy Richard’s PB is so cool. One ingredient? I need to try that out sometime! These bars are like the real-deal snack bar. 🙂
I am loving these, what a fantastic way to start the day! I love the fact you added dates in there and cinnamon; they’re my favourites!
I love the name of these bars, Shashi :)!! How could they not make you smile? And what a perfect road trip snack. I would go on a road trip JUST to have these, lol. But, then again, having for breakfast is pretty sweet too, especially with coffee 🙂 Cheers to a fabulous weekend, my friend! XO
I remember when that fire was on the news – so crazy! But anyway, these bars! They have so many of my favorite things! I’ll take a few please!
You sure were gobsmacked a few times recently, my friend. And now I am too. These bars look fabulous and I love the date sweetener and natural peanut butter. I had heard about that fire on I-85 in Atlanta. Crazy. I heard that it was a bunch of utility cables that were coiled underneath the bridge that caught fire and really got the flames wild. Too bad and what a shame, but I was glad to hear that there were no injuries related to the fire. I used to use that bridge when we lived in the south and would come in to Atlanta. Well, hope all is well with you my friend. If nothing else, I know you are eating well with these delicious bars on hand. XOXO
Yes, yes and yes! Pinned.
Shashi, you know I am always looking for new bars for hillwalking expeditions and these are absolutely perfect, thank you!
That’s shocking about that I-85 in Atlanta bridge being closed down because of the fire. I actually went and Googles about it just to look at the pictures! Anyway, at least it’s not something you have to care about too much anymore. You’ve done your time, haven’t you? 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Great snack/breakfast idea 🙂
The second I read “peanut butter oat bar,” I just knew this was gonna be GOOD!! Shashi, my friend, you know how I just love my peanut butter and oat combos! This looks utterly delicious! Btw, I totally love Crazy Richard’s peanut butter! I always buy it in bulk. Lol. What a fantastic recipe you’ve created! I’ll be dreaming about them all weekend!
I remember that they had the bridge closes, so bad!!! Glad you made it to the conference and had great time there. These bars look super delicious! Love them!