Breakfast of This Champion

Okay, fellow wanderers, I have a confession to make. I hate breakfast. There I have said it. It is truly the one meal I could do without. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love breakfast foods, I just don't like the early timeframe in which we are supposed to eat them. But I eat breakfast for one reason and one reason only. I need to. You see, I am pre- diabetic. If I skip breakfast, believe me, my body lets me know it isn't happy with me.

A few years ago, eating breakfast wasn't something I enjoyed, but I could deal with it because I normally was eating at  a "normal" - sometime between 8 am and 9:30 am. Then, my scheduled changed and I had to be at work at 7 am. Now, I already not a morning person, so the thought of getting up early to make breakfast just wasn't going to happen. Plus, my body just does not like eating right after I wake up. I tried protein powder in my coffee (which actually does taste good of you get the vanilla kind), hard boiled eggs, and healthy protein bars. They all worked but I worried I wasn't getting enough nutrients, especially after I became a vegetarian. Then, my sister sent me a recipe for these oatmeal bars. They were sugarless, but made with bananas and applesauce, which was supposed to provide the sweetness. It didn't. But I kept playing with the recipe, adding some Stevia and swapping out the applesauce for canned pumpkin to add in a veggie. I kept playing around and came up with a recipe I actually enjoy. It's vegan, gluten-free, AND sugarless, but does not taste it. And you can add in whatever "fixings" you want. Feel like chocolate chips, add them in. Want more of a trail mix bar, have add it. Want more of a peanut butter thing, go crazy. I even had the idea today of adding in protein powder to make it a complete meal bar. (I usually eat mine with a cup of coffee and a Greek yogurt.) The idea is to make it your own.

I have posted my basic recipe below. I hope you make them and get your day off to a healthy start.

Enjoy!!

-Buffy

Healthy Oatmeal Bars
(yield 12 bars)
-3 ripe bananas
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin (I have also used canned, mashed sweet potato which is easier to find year round)
-6 packets Stevia
-1 teaspoon cinnamon and ginger
-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 cups rolled, old-fashioned oats
-1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°. Mash bananas, then mix in pumpkin, spices, Stevia, vanilla, and pecans. When well combined, mix in oats and cost well. Pour onto 8x8 pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool before popping out of pan.