Healthy Orange and Cranberry Breakfast Bars

Yummy healthy bars - a riff on hellokitty's delicious bars (Extremely Healthy Fiber Packed Zucchini Carrot Cranberry Bars) It looks like a lot of ingredients but these are super easy to make and taste wonderful!!

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 1  extra large egg (or 1 regular egg and 1 egg white)
• 1⁄3 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
• 1⁄4 cup white sugar
• 1  tablespoon canola oil
• 2  tablespoons almond butter
• 3  tablespoons  no-sugar-added apple pie filling, pureed (or no sugar apple puree)
• 1  cup buttermilk (or 1 cup nonfat milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
• 1  tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1  orange, zest of
• 2  cups zucchini, grated (about 2 large zucchinis)
• 1  cup carrot, grated (about 2 medium sized carrots)
• 1  medium apple, grated
• 1  cup dried cranberries (or 1 cup mixed dried fruit, I like cranberries, chopped figs and currants)
• 1 1⁄2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1⁄2 cup  oat bran
• 2  teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon allspice
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1  pinch kosher salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13” cake or brownie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. If using regular milk instead of buttermilk, mix together milk with lemon juice. Set aside for 5 minutes.
3. Beat egg well, then add both sugars, oil and beat together again. Add in vanilla, orange zest, zucchini, carrots, apple, cranberries and the buttermilk/milk and lemon mixture. Mix together well.
4. Sift the flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, and salt into another bowl. Stir in oat bran and nuts, if adding, and mix together until combined.
5. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mix together until just combined (do not over-mix). Spoon the mixture into the oiled pan.
6. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until wooden stick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the bars are not sticky in the middle. Be careful not to over cook or bars will become dry and tough.
7. Once cool, turn out onto board and cut into 24 bars. Bars will keep covered in the fridge for 4-6 days, or wrap individual bars with clingwrap and freeze.