Hello everyone!!
Today I have super exciting personal news that I just have to share!!!
My husband and I are officially HOME OWNERS!!! Woohoo!!! 😀 😀 We will be moving to the Peterborough area at the end of September. I am really excited but super nervous at the same time 😐 Has anyone else had this same feeling when buying their first house??
On the positive side, Allen is going to be sooo excited to be closer to his cousins! 🙂
In celebration of this exciting news I am sharing the recipe for my Sweet Potato Tahini Protein Bars. These bars are great because they double as a healthy snack or dessert!
In addition to being versatile, they also pack an excellent nutritional punch. Being made primarily from sweet potatoes they are:
- Gluten and grain free
- High in fibre
- High in Vitamins A, C and B6
- High in potassium
Not to mention they also contain tahini which is an excellent source of healthy fats as well as protein thanks to Sunwarrior Classic Vanilla Plus protein powder. 🙂
You can easily make these bars without protein powder if you’re not a fan by subbing in ground oat flour instead. Oat flour is super easy to make by putting the oats (use GF if needed) into a small food processor or coffee grinder until it turns into a flour.
I like to use protein powder because I sometimes find it challenging to make sure I get enough from my plant-based diet. By throwing in a protein bar as a snack, I know I am getting an extra dose and it makes me feel better. 🙂
Important note: I would strongly suggest keeping these bars in the freezer as they can be very soft. In the recipe I’ve given the option to add oat flour in addition to or instead of the protein powder. I recommend you do this to help improve the texture and it will help the bars keep their form better.
However, if you are grain-free you can definitely make the recipe with only protein powder or add a bit of coconut flour if you prefer a firmer texture.
Without further ado, here is the recipe!
- 1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 scoops or 1/2 cup of protein powder (or 1/2 cup of oat flour)*
- 1/3 cup of gluten-free oat flour (optional, but recommended)**
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 flax eggs
- 1/2 cup of tahini or other nut/seed butter of your choice
- 1/3 cup of maple syrup (adjust sweetness to preference)
- 1/3-2/3 cup of unsweetened nut or plant-based milk (I used cashew milk)***
- 1/3 cup of vegan chocolate chips - (optional -I used cuisine camino semi-sweet)
- Bake sweet potato in its skin in oven at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes or until a fork easily goes through.
- Remove from oven and let cool before removing the skin.
- In the meantime, make flax eggs by combining 2 tbsp ground flaxseed in 6 Tbsp of water in a small jar and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Once the sweet potato has cooled and the skin has been removed, place in a large bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher until smooth.
- Add all of the other ingredients except for the milk and chocolate chips and combine.
- Slowly add the milk starting with small amounts. Stop adding once mixture gets to desired consistency. It should resemble that of a muffin mixture (not runny or dry, but sticky and still able to pour into the pan).
- Taste and adjust sweetener if needed.
- Add chocolate chips and combine.
- Pour mixture into a 9x9 pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes
- Allow to cool for 25 minutes or more before cutting****
- Store these bars in the freezer or fridge for up 2 weeks- 1 month
- *Use oat flour if you do not like protein powder. To make oat flour, place oats in a coffee grinder, blender or food processor and blend until you get a fine flour.
- **Add oat flour to the recipe to improve texture. Recommended but not necessary.
- ***Be sure to add milk slowly, 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency. The amount of milk needed will vary based on your protein powder or wether or not you use oat flour.
- ****These were rather soft so I would recommend putting them in the fridge for 30 minutes once cooled before cutting and then store in freezer or fridge.
Let me know what you thought of these bars!
ps. I think I bought yams instead of sweet potatoes… is anyone else as confused as I am between these two?? Maybe it’s just me 😐
xoxo
Phoebe
April 14, 2018 at 4:38 pmThis recipe looks delish! I’ve seen several baked goods recipes calling for sweet potatoes lately but have not tried any of them yet… I think I may have to give this one a go! One question, is the 1/3 cup oat flour measured pre- blended or post blended? I’m assuming post blended. Thank you!
JessD
April 16, 2018 at 11:39 pmAww thank you so much Phoebe!! The 1/3 cup of oat flour is measured post-blended!
I hope you enjoy!
xoxo