Healthy Homemade Banana Protein Bars

 

As a new mom, I’m all about fast, convenient and satisfying food! I discovered this insanely delicious recipe while very pregnant in full on “nesting mode”, experimenting in the kitchen in the days leading up to my delivery.

Baby girl was over a week late, so there was a lot of time spent distracting myself and making food to fill up our new chest freezer in the garage. Baking healthy delicious treats that were freezer-friendly became somewhat of an obsession! This one is a winning recipe I’m excited to share! High in protein and healthy fats, it will satisfy your hunger AND your sweet tooth – without a sugar crash later.  It’s vegan and gluten free. Make it! You will be happy you did.

Ingredients:

  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 cup gluten free rolled oats, ground into a flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 2 scoops vanilla protein powder ( I use Vega or Genuine Health)
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 2 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 6 Tbsp water
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×9 baking tin.
  2. Combine chia seeds with 6 Tbsp water and stir. Set aside and allow it to form a gel-like “chia egg.”
  3. Place rolled oats in a small Magic Bullet or blender and process into a flour.
  4. Now combine the chia egg, oat flour and all remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Mix well. The dough batter will feel thicker than a traditional banana bread dough, closer to a cookie dough consistency.
  5. Spread batter into the greased pan and bake at 350 F for approx 25 minutes until edges start to pull away from the sides.
  6. Allow to cool before cutting into squares! This will take willpower 🙂  Store in a tupperware container in the fridge or freeze in freezer bags for a rainy day!