PUMPKIN APPLE PIE BARS / VEGAN/GF/WHOLEFOOD

Allysa Empson
Oct 3, 2017
3 min read

What a beautiful season for creativity, health, and vibrancy. I have so many creative and adventurous ideas to share with all of you and I'm so excited. I hope all of you are enjoying fall so far and have made new and adventurous plans for yourselves as well!

I thought the very first post I would share with you all would be these amazing pumpkin apple pie bars because they are an awesome, super healthy snack or breakfast that can fuel you perfectly for any adventure you are planning. these bars can be made in a big batch and then cut and stored in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for a few weeks if you really want to be prepared ( although I have not frozen any myself, they all get eaten before I get the chance! ).

Brandon and I took these on a hike last week and really enjoyed snacking on the fall flavors while sitting by a beautiful stream, breathing in the crisp air and looking deeply into each others eyes! woohoo!

We have also been doing some photography on our hikes and Brandon is enjoying learning how to work the big fancy camera, and I am enjoying having cool pictures of myself!

This recipe is truly one that you can have total and complete faith in, knowing that everything in it will serve your body and give it nutrients it needs to function at its highest potential, which is something I really try to strive for in the meals and snacks that I make and put into my body.

Oats are an amazing food that are PACKED with vitamins and minerals like magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, b-vitamins, manganese, iron, and the list goes on! they also contain macro-nutrients like protein, complex carbohydrates as well as fiber that replenish your muscles, steadily fuel your bodies cells and keep you satiated. You will soon realize as I start posting more recipes, I LOVE using oats in so many different ways.

These bars also have a lot of super nutrient dense add-ins like pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds! all amazing sources of omega fatty acids 3 and 6 which are bodies cannot synthesize on their own.

And of course not only are they super nutritious, they are delicious as well! originally I had planned to just make them pumpkin spice bars but the addition of the apple adds an awesome apple pie texture and sweetness that I absolutely love! There are so many different versions of this bar you could make as well! they could be flavored with different fruits and berries, you could add different nut butters as well which I think would taste wonderful! Have fun and get creative! that's how amazing things are born. I will definitely come out with more versions of these bars as well, whenever I try out a new recipe.

Note: you could also make these in silicon muffin cups to eat as a muffin instead of a bar!

I think next time I will try that and see how it goes.

Now on to the good stuff!

This recipe makes a full cookie pan of bars so there will be plenty to store in the fridge or freezer.

Ingredients

5 medium spotty bananas

1 C. pumpkin puree

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 small apples of choice cut into pieces

3 C. rolled oats

2 Tbsp. raw pumpkin seeds

2 Tbsp. Hemp seeds

2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

OPTIONAL

1/4 Cup coconut sugar, chopped dates or maple syrup for added sweetness

( I do not add any sweetener to these as I find them to be sweet enough from the banana, but if you like things sweeter, maple syrup, dates, or coconut sugar are all healthier sweeteners that I use when the need arises )

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Mash banana and combine with all other ingredients in a large bowl.

3. mix well and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

( the thinner you spread the mixture the quicker it will cook)

4. Bake for about 30-40 min or until firm and not squishy.

5. cool and cut into any size snack bar that you would enjoy!