Daniel Fast Sweet Potato Bars

Happy New Year! Is it obnoxious to say that on the 20th?  Probably.  However in the spirit of all things new, we have embarked on a 21-day Daniel Fast to clear out the old and begin fresh!  As you know we stick very close to a vegan diet in our home, so a Daniel Fast is not foreign.  Removing all sugars and leaven does make it quite difficult to bake, though...and momma loves to bake.  Every Monday night I bake fresh muffins for Tuesday morning's breakfast.  Without the use of baking soda/powder or sugar, it's been a rough road.

I started out looking up Daniel Fast muffins, but every recipe I followed left me feeling like I was eating cardboard.  Then I remembered that I had a similar experience when I used to look up vegan recipes. I soon realized that with a few simple substitutions, any recipe can be vegan.  The same goes for the Daniel Fast.  Once you know what you can and cannot eat, you can alter your favorite vegan recipes to fit the bill.  It takes some trial and error, but it's worth it.

I'm very happy to share this delicious Sweet Potato Bar.  The result is a moist, hearty, Daniel Fast approved, nutritious, and delicious breakfast or snack.  Please enjoy!

DANIEL FAST SWEET POTATO BARS

1 cup oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup date syrup
2 tbsp milled flax seed + 6 tbsp water
1 large baked sweet potato (or 2 small ones), mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup dried unsweetened cranberries

Mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mash sweet potato. Then stir in date syrup, flax mixture, vanilla, and apple sauce. Stir in dry ingredients until well moistened. Mix in cranberries. Pour into a greased 8×8 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cut into bars immediately out of the oven.

To join us on our Daniel Fast, please visit our Facebook page for our online community, or click on the Daniel Fast links to sign up for daily emails and fasting resources from my hot hubby!

Tasty Tuesday: Breakfast Muffins

This morning I woke up with the urge to bake! These little breakfast muffins are adorable. They're not too sweet, actually a bit savory - which I prefer for breakfast. You can use the base recipe and mix in pretty much anything. We separated the batter into three different bowls of filling - blueberry, raisins, and dark chocolate chunks. The kiddos enjoyed tasting the different varieties, and they each had their fave! Annabelle loved the chocolate (a girl after my own heart), Juliette preferred the blueberry, while Joshua thought the raisin were the best.

These little dainties are perfect for an afternoon snack, or to take on the road when the kiddos get hungry so you don't have to stop for something unhealthy.  They are packed with protein in the form of quinoa, oats, and almond meal.  They are nutritious down to the last bite and fun to make!  I like to make them mini, but you can make them full sized muffin with the same instructions and ingredients.  Enjoy!

Breakfast Muffins 

1 cup vanilla rice milk
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup agave
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp all-spice
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup filling of choice

Preheat oven to 350° F and lightly grease a non-stick 24 mini-muffin tin. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the rice milk and ground flaxseed. Allow to sit for 1 minute, then whisk in oil, agave, and vanilla. In a large bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt and spices. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just incorporated. Gently fold in the cooked oatmeal and quinoa (I cooked them together in 3 cups of water) and filling(s) of choice.  Pour into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Yields about 40 mini muffins or 12 full sized muffins.