These peanut butter chocolate and banana power bars are the perfect grab & go snack. They are high in good carbohydrates, healthy fats and antioxidants. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. If you’re enjoying them at home (they’re a great breakfast, too!) you can place them in the microwave for 30 seconds prior to enjoying and the chocolate will melt just perfectly.
Ingredient Notes and Health Benefits:
Old fashioned oats: Any brand will work. Try not to buy “1 minute” oats as they are more processed.
Brown sugar: Slightly less refined and lower in calories than white sugar, I love using brown sugar in baking.
Cinnamon: I love the flavor of cinnamon! It’s loaded with antioxidants and is also an anti-inflammatory. Bam!
Almond milk: I love to bake with almond milk, but cows milk or coconut milk will work well, too.
Banana: The more ripe the better! Bananas get much sweeter as the ripen. This also makes it much easier to mash. They are also high in potassium.
Cinnamon applesauce: Regular applesauce will work well too, but I love Trader Joe’s cinnamon apple sauce, and you can never have too much cinnamon, right?!
Dark chocolate: I love dark chocolate because they are a little bit less sweet and also provide a bunch of health benefits because of the high % of cacao in comparison to milk chocolate! Cacao is high in antioxidants, minerals. It also may reduce the risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure and cholesterol and also contain anti-inflammatory properties.
Cooling the Bars:
When you remove the bars from the oven, you know they are baked through when the top feels hard to the touch. Pulling up on either side of the parchment paper, place on a cooling rack. Let sit until the bars are completely cooled. When they are, place on a cutting board and cut into desired sizes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
2 cups oat flour 1. Place dry ingredients except chocolate and pecans(oat flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon) into a large mixing bowl, stir
Ingredients
2 very ripe bananas
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup almond milk
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips Instructions
2. Place peeled bananas in a medium sized mixing bowl and mash with a fork
Add wet ingredients (milk, eggs, peanut butter, apple sauce) to bowl with mashed banana, whisk together
3. Make a well in dry ingredients, pour wet ingredients into the well
4. Mix dry and wet ingredients and set aside for 15 minutes to let the flavors set
5. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350
6. Place a large piece of parchment paper on a baking dish so it hangs over all 4 sides
7. After the 15 minutes, fold in pecans and dark chocolate
8. Pour mixture into baking dish. Using a spoon, make sure batter is evenly distributed. Place in oven for 20-30 minutes. You'll know they are done when your touch the top of the bars and it feels hard.
9. Remove from oven, pull up on parchment paper and place it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes
10. Place paper on a cutting board and cut into squares.
11. Store in the fridge or freezer in an air-tight container
