My husband is a total man's man.
He's the type you'd find chopping wood with one hand, while rescuing a tree-bound kitten with his other.
In my opinionated opinion, a man should not smell better, dress nicer, or have less body hair than myself, and my husband fits those criteria to a tee.
Another thing I like about him is his willingness to eat anything I put in front of his face.
I don't really have 'taste-testers', so I just randomly put my food into the mouths of whoever happens to be around and then nag them for their opinion. More times than not, my husband is the lucky recipient of this duty.
It has taken a while to train his previous 'meat and potatoes' way, but he's a veteran now with analyzing chew, texture, and flavor.
Much to my pleasure (and chagrin), he ended up loving these...so much so that he ate them all! {insert expletive}
This is the kind of recipe you'll want to make at the beginning of every week for fast breakfasts, snacks, and maybe even dessert.
Sweet Potato Breakfast Bars with Vanilla Coconut Butter Icing
Ingredients
- BARS:
- 1 ¼ c . oats
- ¾ t . cinnamon
- ¼ t . allspice
- ½ t . sea salt
- ½ c . mashed or pureed sweet potato
- 1 T . honey or maple syrup
- scant 1/8 t. powdered stevia extract (or another tablespoon of sweetener)
- ½ c . + 2 T. dairy-free milk
- ¼ c . dried apricots
- ¼ c . walnuts (use pumpkin seeds to make them nut-free)
- ICING:
- 1 T . coconut butter
- 1 T . dairy-free milk
- ¼ t . vanilla extract
- stevia to taste , if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl (oats, spices, salt, and stevia, if using).
- Mix the wet ingredients together in a second bowl (sweet potato, sweetener, and milk).
- Mix everything together, including the apricots and walnuts (or pumpkin seeds).
- Allow the batter to soak for about 15 minutes.
- Oil and then line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper (be sure to do this or they will stick!).
- Pour and press the batter evenly into the dish.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden on top and slightly firm to the touch.
- Cool and cut as you desire (I make eight large bars or 16 mini ones).
- Mix the ingredients together for the icing and spread a bit atop each cooled bar.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
My goal with these was to limit sugar and fat as much as possible, even more so than a 'dessert'. I don't tolerate a lot of sugar in the form of granulated or liquid sweeteners in the morning, so these are perfect for me.
These are soft and chewy, and the sugar-free icing really sets them off nicely while adding an extra boost of nutrition.
I'm a huge fan of pairing allspice with oats, so try not to skip that ingredient. It really adds to the flavor and overall deliciousness of the bar!
What trait do you look for in a mate?
Shared with: Allergy-Free Wednesday
Cheryl
Do you think I could add someraw vanilla protein powder to these to up the protein? Trying to find a good recipe for protein bars so I can get my husband off those chemical filled store bought ones.
Lauren
Hi Cheryl,
I think you could...maybe just use it in lieu of the oats? (Remove 1/4 cup of oats and add in 1/4 cup of powder). I hope it works out! 🙂
Mary Frances
I used to think I was a pumpkin puree only girl until I tried sweet potatoes. Now I like them raw, roasted, pureed, you name it! These little bars look SO good -> passed the chew and flavor test with flying colors, I'm sure! The glaze is so pretty, too! 🙂
Lauren
Raw???!! I've never tried them raw before, but then I think they may be like carrots? I'll have to give it a whirl. 🙂
Marianne
These sound really nice! My husband is usually my only taste tester too. He says "Don't change it", and I usually do 😀
Lauren
HAHAHA! Your comment cracked me up Marianne! 😀
Christine@ Apple of My Eye
Hahah I LOVE your description of your man! My Kyle is pretty similar with the whole I AM MAN. HEAR ME ROAR deal, but he's also a huge softy and gentleman. Glad we both have such great guys!
Your husband seems like a lucky guy to have food just shoveled into his mouth ;). I bet there's no complaints from him!
This looks absolutely delicious and I love all the flavor combos you used! Gorgeous photography as well, lady! I love getting photography inspiration from other bloggers 🙂
Lauren
Hahaha, you and Kyle look like you have a great relationship. It reminds me a bit of us in that we pretty much do everything together!
Thanks for the photog props. I'm still learning too, so it's fun to be in the same boat. 🙂
Kayley | The Kitchen McCabe
These look so good! My kids would love them and I would love that they are packed with so many good things!
Lauren
Thanks Kayley! My youngest daughter loved them! 🙂
Jessica @ Blog-Inspired Cooking
These look fabulous! Just what I need, another granola bar recipe! I was going to make peanut butter granola bars this weekend for my son's lunches, but I might need to make these for myself instead! I wanted to point out that I don't think you need to mix the wet and dry separately since there's no chemical reaction going on (usually baking soda/baking powder plus something like buttermilk or other acid).
I just recently discovered your blog and passed it along to my friend who is gluten-free and dairy-free and is leaning towards raw food items. It totally seems like something she'd really like. Plus your photos are great and everything looks so delicious! I like that you use very little sweetener, I tend to prefer not-too-sweet desserts and treats.
Lauren
Thanks so much Jessica! 🙂
Mike @TheIronYou
I agree Laure, I want (and pretend) my GF to smell better, dress nicer, or have less body hair than myself! 😉
And I would also like her to be able to make me some of those bars, but I'm the one who cooks...so I need to make them myself!
Lauren
Haha! Sometimes I wish my husband did the cooking every once in a while, but then I wonder if we'd become competitive or something. Your girlfriend is a lucky lady! 🙂
Audra
Lauren,
I just wanted to send you a quick note telling you how much I appreciate your recipes and blog. It's one of the few that I check out on a regular basis and am always impressed with your creativity and clean recipes. They often inspire me when working with clients and trying to help them with food sensitivities, etc. - so thank you!
I really appreciate what you do!
Warmly,
Audra @ http://www.nourishmindandbody.com
Lauren
Thank you so much Audra! You have no idea how much your comment means to me. I'm so happy to be writing this blog, and it makes it that much better when someone else enjoys it. Thank you again!! xo
Melissa @ Nourish By Melissa
This looks so good! I never thought of using sweet potato in a bar but it seems like a wonderful idea 🙂
amber
Hi Lauren,
Finally back to some blogging here (slowly). Going through my emails and check out what my friends have been up to.
These bars look amazing. My husband would devour these. He eats oatmeal very morning (with applesauce..that's it!). And I am sure he would love these for a snack or with his lunch. Not to mention my kiddos would eat these up too. Love the use of sweet potato! Great recipe.
And my husband (Scott) is a very quiet, laid back, homebody type...and I'm a party girl, outgoing, and love to go socialize. We are 15 years strong and I can't imagine anyone else as my partner. I love him more and more each day. He's a very gentle person, not a big loud person, and he is VERY sensitive. He cried when we watched the season finale of How I Met Your Mother, so there you go (but who didn't cry...so good)!! When it comes to the kids, his heart is made of marshmallows. We truly do balance each other out perfectly. AND, just like your husband, Scott will eat ANYTHING I make. He's also good at testing my recipes, although when it comes to sweets...nothing is *sweet* enough OR has enough chocolate. He's hopeless in that category. Ha ha.
Hope you're well lovely lady.
Hugs,
--Am
Lauren
That's awesome girl. I'm happy you're back at it. Your treats on Ricki's blog looked absolutely delicious!
I totally would not have pegged you as a party girl, but it's awesome you and Scott balance each other out. 🙂 It's great to hear from you!!
Lindsay
OMG I must make these this weekend!! My boyfriend is also very much a man's man, complete with a rugged beard. He is definitely no vegetarian but practices clean eating and tries to stick with very low (or no) sugar. We are also both gluten intolerant. Given that he's a stereotypical 'man,' guess who does all the cooking! Before going gluten free and cutting out most sugar, baking sweet treats was my thing. I'm delighted to find your blog with so many yummy looking recipes! Can't wait to try these 🙂
Lauren
Lol, your bf sounds a lot like my husband! Thanks for reading, and I hope you guys find some recipes that you enjoy here. 🙂
Allison @ Clean Wellness
I always have leftover sweet potatoes in my fridge, so these look like my kind of treat! I'm embarrassed to say that I've never tried coconut butter but it looks like icing, so I think I want to buy some hehe. And my sister said she is my "official" taste tester. Other than that, it's whoever comes around -friends, neighbours, family, my dog 🙂 They all work well as taste-testers and they're free! And me, of course, I'm a taste-tester too.
Daniel
Lauren,
Thanks for sharing this very intriguing recipe. I love everything coconut and gluten free. The Sweet potato thing, that's the first time I even heard putting it in a bar. But it sounds delicious and I'll make sure to try it out.
Daniel
Alejandra
Hi Lauren!
That looks like a fab recipe and can't wait to try it out this weekend! One question though, I don't tolerate well any dried fruit because I have IBS and I follow a special diet for it (FODMAP). Do you think it would work if I substitute for a little bit of mashed banana, or just skip the dried fruit altogether?
Thanks!!
Lauren
Hi Alejandra,
I would just skip it altogether, or add in more nuts or seeds of your choice. I hope you enjoy the recipe! xo
Cassie
YUM! I had never thought about using sweet potato in granola bars... I'll have to try... plus coconut butter? Unreal!
Lindsay
One more thing... Should these be kept in the fridge or can they be left out in a ziplock?
Lauren
Refrigerating them would keep them the most fresh (because of the milk, in particular). 🙂
Chantelle Swayne
Wow, these look great! Perfect for my hubby to take to work. 🙂
Audrey @ Gluten-Free Vegan Love
These look so yummy! I've never tried making sweet potato bars. Great idea!
Heather McEnnerney
Ha ha, I LOVE your description of your man! It's too often that modern women want to be the manly ones in their relationships. Seeing my big hairy strong husband carry heavy things for me makes me melt, ha ha!
Oh, and the recipe looks amazing too! I can't wait to try it 🙂
Sonya
Just made these, they are awesome! I didn't have coconut butter, so I had to use coconut oil, it turned out good, but I'm sure the coconut butter would be allot better. Thanks for all the delicious & nutritious recipes, I am having allot of fun making them and eating them 🙂
Lauren
That's great Sonya! I'm so happy you're enjoying the recipes. 🙂
jenny
Hey Lauren stumbled across ur blog, I love the sound of these and really love sweet potato so yummy, just one question to. .. The sweet potato do u add it raw pureed or cooked pureed?
Lauren
Hi Jenny,
I use cooked pureed sweet potato here. 🙂
Emily
These look delish! But what is coconut butter?
Lauren
Hi Emily,
Coconut butter is literally coconut blitzed in the food processor until it turns to 'butter'! You can buy it from Amazon or Vitacost too.
Amy
It just so happens I have pre cooked sweet potato puree in my fridge!! #winning 😀
Kurt
These little guys are delicious!!