Healthy Pumpkin Spice Chia Breakfast Bars

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Fat-Free, Nut-Free, High Protein

These pumpkin bars are a super tasty and nutritious treat that also happen to be packed with protein and minimal calories! The soft, chewy texture with sweet, warm pumpkin taste will hug you in a blanket of fall, and the healthy ingredients will nourish and restore your body. :)

I adapted this from the recipe for Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies at the "Making the World Cuter" blog. Those pumpkin cookies are amazing and it's a simple straight-forward recipe. I have tried to follow a more vegan lifestyle lately, so I wanted to adapt the recipe and substitute the honey, butter and eggs for something a little more plant-based. I also adjusted the coconut flour and added quinoa flour, as it has fewer calories and is a complete source of protein. The chia seeds replace eggs, are high in protein, and even offer a boost of omega-3 fatty acids. The unsweetened applesauce replaces the butter and can replace the fat component in many baking recipes. The honey is replaced by erythritol or stevia, whichever plant-based, natural organic sweetener you have access to. The nice part about this recipe is you can stir everything by hand in a mixing bowl, no blender or equipment required - super easy!

One word of caution is to check the ingredients list before buying anything, especially in regards to sweeteners. A lot of the "Stevia" or "All-Natural" products in the grocery store actually have dextrose or some weird chemical like malto-dextrin, etc. as the FIRST ingredient, with only a little bit of stevia at the end. (Stevia-in-the-Raw is mainly just dextrose - marketing scam!!) I have ordered erythritol online as it's zero-calorie, and from the research I've done on it does not spike blood sugar, cause any ill effects in the body, and is derived from plants in an ethical way. Erythritol can be found at some health food stores, and you can also find a few actual stevia products in certain grocery stores. As with anything though, it's best to do your own research and use the ingredients that are best for your body's needs and health goals. 

I hope you try and enjoy the recipe! :)

Wet Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin
• 1 cup applesauce (unsweetened) 
• 3/4 cup erythritol (or sweetener of choice)
• 2-3 pinches stevia
• 2 chia seed eggs (2 tbsp. chia seeds + 5 tbsp. water)
• 2 tbsp. vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup brown rice or quinoa flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
• pinch sea salt

Stir the wet ingredients together, then mix into the dry ingredients. 
If the mixture looks a little too wet, then add in extra quinoa flour, and if it's too dry add in pumpkin or applesauce or even almond milk. 

Spread the batter into a 9x13 inch pan and sprinkle with cinnamon. 
[This dough can also be formed into cookies to make delicious pumpkin spice cookies!! :D ]

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Enjoy! :)