An easy, healthy, naturally sweetened snack bar that tastes great, freezes well and can satisfy your hunger at any time.
Snacks?
Are you a snack or no snack family? I married a man with a hollow leg so snacks are not only nice but they are necessary at our house. My kids eat good amounts of healthy food at meal times but they are still hungry a couple hours later.
I believe snacks should be simple and nourish our bodies. Grocery store shelves are full of bags and boxes of snacks of all kinds but there are very few of those that nourish. They are convenient and quick and there is a place for them but they should not be an everyday item.
Substitute for fruit snacks
Years ago I had a friend ask for a substitute for fruit snacks. Her children could not live without them! I smiled and said, “fruit” – a novel idea.
Blueberries are just as “popable” as fruit snacks. Grapes are as conveniently sized as fruit snacks. Cherries can stain your fingers just as successfully as a fruit snack.
All of these options, however, are nourishing to the body, providing vitamins and nutrients that we need daily. Fruit is full of fiber, necessary for all of the processes that take place in our bodies.
Beyond Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are wonderful, convenient, delicious snacks, but at times something a little more substantial is necessary. I try to keep some kind of bar or healthy cookie in the freezer at all times for a quick-grab snack.
This banana bar is made with whole grains, filling almond flour, and sweetened with bananas and natural sweeteners. They come together quickly and freeze well. They are naturally gluten free and can easily be dairy free if you use dairy free chocolate chips.
Oat flour
Have you made your own oat flour before? It is easy and quick. You need a good blender and some good quality oats.
You can use rolled oats, quick oats or steel cut oats. If you have the whole oat groat, it is best to run those through a wheat grinder. A blender will work but the resulting flour will be slightly more course.
2 cups of oats will yield approximately 1 ½ cups of oat flour. This recipe requires less than that so you can save that little bit of extra oat flour for some cookies or pancakes or you can grind a little less than 2 cups of oats.
Banana Snack Bar
1 cup almond flour
1 ¼ c oat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 ripe bananas
2 eggs
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir well. In a blender bowl add the bananas, eggs, and honey. Blend until smooth. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan. Spread it out evenly. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips, if using. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let the bars cool. Cut into squares and store in a Tupperware or freezer bag in the freezer. Alternately, they will keep on the counter in an airtight container for a week.
Tweak It Notes
- OATS – Use organic if possible. They have a bag of sprouted organic oats at Costco that work great in this recipe.
- DOUBLE THE RECIPE – I usually double this recipe and bake it in a baking sheet/half sheet pan (as seen below).
- MAKE IT A CAKE – I have skipped the chocolate chips on the top and made a cream cheese honey frosting (8 oz package of cream cheese, softened and 1/4-1/2 cup honey stirred together until smooth) and spread that on top for a nice low sugar dessert.
- EGGS – can be replaced with flax or chia seed eggs. The resulting bars will be slightly drier. 1 egg = 1 tablespoon chia or flax seed and 3 tablespoons water. You can also sub in 1/4 cup applesauce for 1 egg, so 1/2 cup in this recipe.
