Breakfast Bars

These are titled Breakfast Bars but they are way more versatile than that! The base--almond meal and bananas--is super easy to make and then you can add whatever extras you want. The flavor, I was excited to discover, is reminiscent of Irish Soda Bread, especially if you add raisins as an ingredient. So far these have been eaten as breakfast, an on the go snack, and even as pre-snowshoeing fuel. These bars keep well in the fridge and are quite dense, so they're very portable.

The idea of a portable breakfast is always intriguing to me. Oftentimes in the morning to save time I pack my breakfast to go so I can eat it at work. ('Save time' in my world means I spent 60-90 minutes running & doing strength training and as a result have zero time for anything else except a quick shower and war paint style make-up application before running out the door to catch the bus.) The issue with this time saving technique is I'm starving and can't eat until I've made the commute into Denver, which takes around 40 minutes. Hence the need for some sort of handheld item that is efficient, filling, not loaded with nasty fillers and also doesn't cost $4 a bar at the store. Enter, the Breakfast Bar! These are easy to make, and you can adjust the size to whatever portion seems right.

The recipe below calls for quick oats and cranberries or raisins, but really the dough binds to any ingredient, so the next time I make these I plan on loading them up with more nuts and seeds. There is also an option to add honey or agave, but you could easily omit that as the banana makes these sweet enough on it's own. Let me know how these work out for you in the comments section--and let me know what additions you included!

What You Need:

• 2 bananas, ripe

• 1 1/2 cups almond meal

• 1 cup quick oats

• 1 cup raisins, cranberries, etc.

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon tapioca starch

• 1/8 cup water

• (Optional) 1 tablespoon honey/agave

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

• In a bowl, mash your bananas until they are smooth

• Add your almond meal and keep mashing until you have a paste

• Add the water and keep mashing/mixing

• Add your baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla extract, tapiioca starch & honey, if using and mix until everything is blended

• Once this is all blended, fold in the quick oats and raisins with a spatula

• With clean hands, make small loaf shaped pieces and put on an ungreased baking sheet. This will make about 9 bars

• Put in the oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping once

Allow to cool before eating. Can be stored in the fridge or in a covered container not refrigerated for a few days!