Thursday, March 27, 2014

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars

Hello, hello! I'm really excited to share my new favorite snack recipe with you today. I'm always looking for a portable, delicious, and healthy snack to eat between fitness classes or for those moments when I can feel my blood sugar drop. These Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars are the perfect solution to any snack dilemma!

I had been buying lots of store bought granola bars, protein bars, and fiber bars, but most of them have an enormously long list of ingredients and some just taste like candy. Candy is great (don't get me wrong), but sometimes I just want a healthy satisfying snack that doesn't involve chocolate or caramel.

I searched the web for what seems like hours trying to find the perfect bar recipe, but never had all of the ingredients on hand to create my own. With several very different recipes in mind, I created my own snack bar recipe and couldn't be happier with the results!


Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars

Makes 8 generous bars

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1/4 cup skim milk (or your favorite milk)
1/4 cup chopped pitted dates
1/4 to 1/3 cup peanut butter (I used 1/4 cup)
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350* and spray a 9" x 9" pan with cooking spray. In a small mixing bowl, mash the bananas until there are no large chunks left. Add the milk, vanilla, and peanut butter and whisk until well combined. Add the dates, oats, and cinnamon and stir until well combined. Press the mixture into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.


*If your family is used to really sweet snack bars, you might want to add 1/4-1/3 cup of your favorite sweetener (like agave, honey, or brown sugar).

Enjoy!


6 comments:

  1. You're right about store bought granola bars, people think of them as healthy but many times they're full of sugar and hydrogenated oil. These sound so good, and I love how they're all natural!

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    1. Thanks! And if you give them a try, let me know how you like them :)

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  2. These look so delicious and healthy! Thanks for sharing at Simple Supper Tuesday.

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  3. I always put less sugar than most recipes call for. These look terrific!

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    1. Me too! And most of the time, I can hardly tell the difference. Thanks for stopping by :)

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