Vegan Blueberry Cobbler Bars

Going vegan is a challenge. It's really not, but that is what you are supposed to say, right? Well, I mean, you have to get past the whole mental thing and thinking that all you are going to be able to eat is grass, and, yeah, that's pretty much it. Seriously that is 98% of the difficulty in adopting a plant based diet. Luckily with the invention of internet, Pinterest, Instagram, and all of the information known to man at the touch of an iPhone button, there really is no legitimate reason for letting that kind of thinking last for more than a few minutes. 

All that being said, I had a church event that I had to bring something delicious to. I am known for my "something delicious", so I couldn't disappoint just because I was eating plant based. Challenge accepted. To the internet I went for inspiration. It didn't take long before I realized that I wanted to do some kind of yummy bar, and I wanted something amazing that non-vegans would go crazy over. These looked like they would fit the bill perfectly. They even have greens in them as a bonus! These things weren't originally vegan, but by substituting other things for the butter, and honey, they very easily became vegan. I made some tweaks here and there and voila...gorgeous triumph! I also included a way to make them Gluten Free for my celiac homies. 

Don't you love it when that happens?

Ingredients

4 cups rolled oats

1 1/4 cup unbleached flour 

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup organic sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup Earth Balance organic spread (chilled)

3 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 c. organic sugar

1 cup spinach leaves, food processed

1/2 c sliced almonds

2 Tbsp poppy seeds

To make recipe GLUTEN FREE, omit flours and baking powder and substitute 2 1/2 c of a gluten free baking mix like Bob's Red Mill or Pamela's and make sure your oats are gluten free. 

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Give it a good stir.

3. Incorporate the margarine by cutting it in with two butter knives until the mixture looks like a coarse streusel topping  and is no longer powdery. But do not cream. You want bits of the spread visible in little chunks throughout.

4. Set aside about half of the oat mixture, and press the other half firmly into the cookie sheet. Bake until just slightly toasty at the edges (not fully baked) 11-13 minutes

5. While that bakes, In a saucepan, heat the blueberries and 2 Tbsp organic sugar over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce. (should take about 15 minutes) Once it is thickened to a syurpy consistency, take off heat and add the spinach and stir. 

6. Pour the blueberry mixture over the parbaked oat mixture, then sprinkle the reserved mix. Sprinkle sliced almonds and poppy seeds evenly over the top. Pop it back into the oven until the top is lightly browned and fragrant, approximately 20 minutes. 

7. Cool on a rack completely before cutting into bars. 

Yield 32 bars.

***A quick note about the sugar. While I used all organic ingredients in the version I made, I only specified organic sugar in the ingredient list. Why? Sugar should be vegan, it is made from  sugar cane (or sugar beet depending on the brand of sugar you are using). Well, yes, technically that is true. The sugar itself is a plant, but unfortunately, the traditional method of processing sugar includes filtering it through animal bone char, making it decidedly NON-vegan (and pretty gross in my opinion). For that reason, only the organic version can be considered vegan.***

I was so tickled when these turned out amazing. Hope you guys enjoy! I had to get these pictures before my kids decimated them!

Resolute

 

 

VICTORY 101

 

On January 10th, I, Veggie Mama, mother of many, began a challenge that heretofore and forevermore will be referred to as Victory 101. Basically what's going to go down is this; for the next 101 days, I am committing myself to optimizing my health and strength. It is my swan song, and the culmination of a 16 year journey that began with a very sick and tired 20 year old who couldn't even stand up for the time my kids played in the park and knew nothing about nutrition or how to fuel my body.

 

So learn I did, mostly in straight-up Hard Knock University. Yeah, I know I'm not the only one. Luckily I did, a because if I hadn't, I would not be here sipping my organic coffee and telling the tale. Of that, I am totally convinced. I would have long ago been cold in my grave. As it is, keeping up with our crazy blessed days is challenging enough in good health. That being said, I challenged myself to better health. Truly the best health of my life. Because I know it is there for the getting. So I'm gonna' get me some of that!

 

Along the way, I will be blogging it up. I hope to include status updates, encouragement, for myself and anyone else that might be along for the ride (even if it's only you, Ma). I hope that anything I may post up will be of use to someone, somewhere.

 

The terms of the challenge:

For the next 101 days I will be

 

 

eating a 100% Vegan Diet, and as organic as I can manage.

 

Why is this a big deal? Because, while I am a long time vegetarian and most of what we eat is organic, I have never gone fully vegan. I have done a lot of discovering about the statistics on how healthy a fully vegan diet can be. I feel like this will maximize my nutrient intake and minimize non nutrient calories in my diet.

 

I will be concentrating most of my diet on a whole food (meaning un-processed and in it's natural form), plant based, diet. Because I am such a hardcore cheeser and egger, I will be using tofu and cheese substitutes, but I hope to phase them out as I go through the challenge.

 

Some of the hardest things to overcome for me that I enjoy (maybe a little too much) as a vegetarian, but that are not part of a vegan eating plan are: hard cheese, eggs, half & half in my coffee, sour cream, and cottage cheese. The fact is, when my husband and I started dating, he came over to my house one day, happened to get in the refrigerator, and kind of froze. When I asked what he was doing, he held up a finger to say "hold on". When he brought his head back out, the look on his face was complete astonishment. "You have 17 different kinds of cheese in there!" Well, obviously, it wasn't a deal breaker, but he still makes fun of my love of all things cheesy.

 

 

 

intentionally building my strength.

 

So I'm the kinda kid who will do 2 hours of cardio, but take one look at the weights and nautilus equipment and go into a cold sweat, leaving quickly before anyone recognizes the fear and confusion. Understanding that, it is not shocking to learn that I have the strength of a wet noodle. So I guess lifting my coffee cup all these years has had no affect on my guns. My back has pathetically gotten to the point where I wake up in agony multiple times a week. Who knew having a truckload of kids would weaken your core? Okay, yeah, everybody.

 

So, now I have a pal with the patience to walk me through it like I'm six years old, which is exactly what I needed to avoid looking like this:

 

 

I am committing to working out 5 days a week for the challenge.

 

 

So that is basically it. I am looking forward to focusing on my health and getting to a better place with my health. I really believe that 2014 is my year.