These are kind of like dense muffins, but baked all together like a cake and cut into squares. This makes the prep and clean-up much easier (I love muffins, but I hate filling and cleaning each individual cup!). The squares are a mixture of mostly oats, some whole wheat flour, maple syrup and brown sugar, nuts, milk, an egg, and a few other things. They’re packed full of fiber with just a touch of sweetness. Oh, and they also have a streusel topping. Because… streusel. You can leave this out if you want to cut back on sugar :-)
I’ve been trying to eat more oats lately. I’m exclusively breastfeeding my daughter, Zoey, and I’m happy to say we’ve gone four months with not a drop of formula! My goal is to breastfeed her for a full year. But as she grows, so does her appetite. I’d heard that oats help increase breastmilk supply, and after a few days of eating oats every day, I noticed a difference. These bars make it easy to eat oats every day, and Zoey’s doing a lot better at eating more during each feeding. They’ve also been super helpful this week for my husband in the mornings – he’s a teacher, and the last few weeks of school for a teacher are a rough gig. Having an easy, healthy breakfast takes the stress out of busy mornings and gives him energy to get through the day.
For a gluten-free option, substitute the whole wheat flour with oat flour. You can buy it at the store, or you can make your own simply by grinding up oats to your food processor. Recipe for Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal Squares below!
