Grain-Free Power Bagels - Chocked Full of Seeds, Nuts & Fruits

This morning I slept in for a change. When I opened my eyes, I immediately started thinking about one of my old weekend favorites...Einstein Bros "Power Bagels." Hubby and I used to go once a week (on either Saturday or Sunday) for breakfast to Einsteins. I always got the exact same thing...a "power bagel" with cream cheese and coffee. For those of you that have never had one or don't know what they are...they are supposed to be a "healthier" bagel. They are very lightly sweetened with the addition of dried fruit, seeds and nuts and rather than being shaped like a traditional round bagel with a hole in the middle, they are shaped like tiny little loaves of bread and have a heartier texture. I felt so sad when I actually looked recently at the ingredients and wondered how I once thought these were actually healthy! I guess it's all relative though. Maybe they are healthier compared to a worse choice? LOL

Check out "their healthy ingredients"...
Einstein Bros Power Bagel: Enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, malt barley flour, niacin, reduced thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, raisins, rye flakes, dried cranberries (sugar, cranberries, sunflower oil), sunflower seeds, honey, high fructose corn syrup, walnuts, yeast, wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, rye meal, salt, rye flour, cinnamon, sesame seeds, oatmeal, corn meal, barley flakes, millet, molasses, malt, sugar, diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono and diglycerides (DATEM), ascorbic acid, soy oil, mono and diglycerides, lactic acid, acetic acid, enzyme, malt barley flour, L. Systeine (an amino acid), Egg wash (eggs, water), Allergens: Wheat, Tree Nuts, Soy, Egg.

Lord have mercy...I got exhausted just TYPING those ingredients...and to think THAT is supposed to be healthy? Seriously...to sweeten them they add honey AND HFCS...WHY??? Nothing that has HFCS in it could ever be considered healthy. Wow...we have been SO lied to for far too long! I don't even know what half of those ingredients are, nor can I pronounce them. If I were to say them out loud, people would think I was speaking a different language. 

Well, no worries...I took care of that by recreating my own "Power Bagels". Mine are round instead of rectangular, and like theirs, are without holes (leaving more bread to spread).

Take a look at the list of ingredients in MY power bagels...
Blanched almond flour, organic coconut flour, ground chia seeds, baking powder (no aluminum), baking soda, organic non GMO dried and unsulfured fruit and seeds (tart cherries, blueberries, goji berries, cranberries, raisins, pepita seeds, apple juice), walnuts, cinnamon, sea salt, Swerve natural sweetener, organic eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, organic coconut oil, apple cider vinegar.

These power bagels turned out great and contain just a subtle hint of sweetness, mostly from the dried fruit. There is only 1/4 cup of dried fruit in 6 large bagels. If you want to make them a bit sweeter, you can increase the sweetness a bit with some stevia so it doesn't affect the volume or texture. I enjoyed my first bagel warm out of the oven with a schmear of cream cheese. I look forward to slipping one into my purse and taking it with me to Einsteins soon where I can finally eat a true "healthy power bagel" for a change! 

I snapped a few photos below as well as my easy recipe. I found the "antioxidant fusion" blend of dried fruit and pepita seeds at Costco (made by "Made in Nature"). It's also available on Amazon and probably at other stores like Whole Foods, etc. If you can't find it or don't have this particular fruit mixture available, you can substitute other dried fruits and seeds in their place. Dried fruits are higher in sugar and carbohydrates because they are concentrated, so if you are watching your carb and sugar intake, like I am, they should be eaten and used sparingly. I only used 1/4 cup of them for the entire recipe (6 generous servings). If you wanted to, you could easily make smaller bagels. If you make 6 large Power Bagels like I did, the carb count is approximately 10 net carbs each (slightly less). Depending on what you spread your bagel with will add an additional 0 carbs if you use butter, or less than 1 carb if you add 2 ounces cream cheese. This is well within my 15 net carb allowance per meal. When I eat one of these, it IS my meal and actually holds me through the second meal (lunch) which I usually skip on weekends.  This recipe would also make 8 nice sized bagels, too, if you were looking to reduce the carbs even further. Check out the recipe and photos below. Enjoy!

Dough is divided and scooped into wells

Dough is smoothed with moistened fingertips before baking

Fresh out of the oven

Cooling on a rack

This is the pan I use for these

Grain-Free Power Bagels

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
1-1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 cup ground chia seeds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup no sugar added dried fruit and seed mixture
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/4 cup granular Swerve Sweetener
4 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

In a medium sized bowl, mix first 10 ingredients together with a whisk to help break up any lumps.

In a small bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and vinegar together. Stir wet mixture into dry ingredients and mix well; stir in coconut oil and combine until a dough is formed. Dough will be thick and slightly sticky. 

Lightly spray a 6-well mini cake pan (for thicker bagels) or a nonstick muffin top pan with olive oil or coconut oil spray. Using a 4-tablespoon size retractable scoop, divide and scoop dough into 6 equal sized portions in pan. Using slightly moistened finger tips, gently pat down and smooth dough to form patty-sized circles in the wells or muffin cups. Bake for about 20-22 minutes, or until lightly browned and done. Remove from pan after sitting for 5 minutes and cool on a wire rack. Slice in half with a sharp serrated knife.

*Note: These can also be baked on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (shaped and smoothed with moistened fingertips).