Happy Monday, everyone! Yes, even this corporate slave wishes everyone a happy start to the work week... perhaps this will start it on a better foot than my usual grumpy post-weekend self.
Some folks representing Cranberry Naturals sent me a couple of bottles of juice to try. These juices are sweetened with Stevia and are free of things like high-fructose corn syrup and artificial stuff.
I'm not a juice drinker. Something about the aftertaste makes me avoid it, unless I am really, really thirsty. However, "The Ukrainian" loves drinking berry-flavored juice and would drink more of it if it weren't for the sugar content.
Problem solved.
My non-juice drinking self decided to cook with the stuff instead. I had a pint of fresh blueberries that were inching past their ideal freshness, so I popped them into a saucepan and added some of the cranberry apple flavor to make the filling for THESE vegan blueberry oat bars.
Making the crust...
Layering.
The fresh-outta-the-oven look:
I cut these up and wrapped them for the freezer before I went too crazy. I've been doing this so that I can bake a lot without having to get rid of leftovers quickly. The best part is, I can munch on a healthy treat basically whenever I please.
The cranberry juice added a little tartness to the filling that would not have been there had I used straight apple juice like the recipe states, but I actually like the additional flavor. I could not tell that there was anything different about this juice, so I'd definitely get this again for others to drink... and for me to use for baking.
Some folks representing Cranberry Naturals sent me a couple of bottles of juice to try. These juices are sweetened with Stevia and are free of things like high-fructose corn syrup and artificial stuff.
I'm not a juice drinker. Something about the aftertaste makes me avoid it, unless I am really, really thirsty. However, "The Ukrainian" loves drinking berry-flavored juice and would drink more of it if it weren't for the sugar content.
Problem solved.
My non-juice drinking self decided to cook with the stuff instead. I had a pint of fresh blueberries that were inching past their ideal freshness, so I popped them into a saucepan and added some of the cranberry apple flavor to make the filling for THESE vegan blueberry oat bars.
Making the crust...
Layering.
The fresh-outta-the-oven look:
I cut these up and wrapped them for the freezer before I went too crazy. I've been doing this so that I can bake a lot without having to get rid of leftovers quickly. The best part is, I can munch on a healthy treat basically whenever I please.
The cranberry juice added a little tartness to the filling that would not have been there had I used straight apple juice like the recipe states, but I actually like the additional flavor. I could not tell that there was anything different about this juice, so I'd definitely get this again for others to drink... and for me to use for baking.
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FTC Disclaimer: I was sent samples of this product and was not obligated to write a positive review.
Nice! Love the marriage of blueberry and cranberry flavors. Looks very tasty!
ReplyDeleteYum! I love anything that is fruity and oaty!
ReplyDelete