Fresh from the oven!

Go bananas!!! This recipe is simple, and simply tasty! I love to eat a couple of these for breakfast, as well as for a snack. Really though, it’s one of the most simple (and not to mention least messy) baking recipes I’ve encountered. In my method, I increase the prep time because I buy whole dried dates and chop them myself. Originally, I’d found this recipe on All Recipes website, but I’ve made a few modifications to make it my own. I added brown sugar, cinnamon, whole flax seeds and a little quinoa. I also only used 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce. Too much oil makes things taste “off” to me.

A couple of notes: this mixture does not rise like cookie batter, so shape them the way you want them when they’re done. I made mine into little mini granola bars so it looks like I have my own line of healthy snack foods, lol. Hope you all enjoy them as much as I do!

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas, mashed (I use a potato masher)
2 cups whole rolled oats (like Bob’s Red Mill oats) 
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp dry quinoa
2 tbsp whole flax seeds
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Make:
Preheat oven to 350. Peel your bananas and place in a large mixing bowl. Mash with the potato masher and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. On a lightly oiled (or non-stick sprayed) cookie sheet, shape and arrange the bars as you wish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 or until slightly browned.