Banana Bread Protein Bars

By PBogho57

Ingredients

• Dry ingredients:
• 2/3 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats*, ground into flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 3 tbsp mini dark chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life brand)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
• Wet ingredients:
• 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 small-medium)
• 1/2 cup natural smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup coconut nectar syrup (or brown rice syrup)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/04/17/banana-bread-protein-bars/#ixzz2TYRzN120

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from ohsheglows.com

Preparation

Step 1

Whenever my heart feels heavy, lost, or confused I tend to turn to the kitchen to distract myself. Seeking comfort in food isn’t as bad as those ridiculous diet magazines make it out to be. Food can bring us all together and make us pause to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Sometimes, a big pot of chili and garlic bread,

It’s been an emotional week to say the least. I find myself extra sensitive about everything, trying to make sense of all the loss in this world. I haven’t made any sense of it yet and there’s no feeling of progress made in my mind. Despite this heavy heart, I can’t help but be inspired by all the good out there. The selfless people helping in a time of need. The bravery and generosity going on is a beautiful thing to see. Sometimes I don’t always see the good, but it’s there. Love always prevails.

1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats*, ground into flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8-inch square pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper, one going each way. Tip – to get the parchment to stick to the pan, give the base a spray with olive oil and do this for the next paper too.

2. Add raw buckwheat groats into a high-speed blender and blend on high until a fine flour forms. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

3. Mash bananas until smooth and measure out 3/4 cup. Stir together the banana and all the wet ingredients in a bowl.

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir well until combined. The dough should be very sticky!

5. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the batter and press it down to spread out the batter evenly. You can also remove the paper and wet your hands lightly and spread it out that way. Make sure it’s as even as possible.

: Raw buckwheat groats are not the same as kasha or toasted buckwheat. Raw groats have a milder flavour than toasted. You can find raw groats online, in some health food stores, or the bulk bins of Whole Foods. I buy mine in bulk from

online. You might be able to substitute the ground buckwheat for oat flour, but I have not tried this myself. If anyone tries it, please leave a comment and report back.

add one

So hard to keep up with you:) You come up with something awesome all the time. Can I replace peanut butter with almond butter you think. Can’t wait for your book to come out. i think you have the best Vegan recipes. Quick question though: I made your zucchini cake/bread but the bread did not bake inside. I had to throw it away:( Do i need to squeeze the zucchini to get the water out of them before mixing it in? Thanks!!!

Hi Vildan, You are so sweet! Thank you for the kind words. I can’t see why almond butter wouldn’t work (of course the flavour will change though). I’ve never had that problem with the zucchini bread and I’m sorry that happened to you. Did you make any changes to the recipe? My guess is that it just needed more time in the oven – oven temps can vary a lot. try the toothpick test to make sure it comes out clean before removing from the oven.

Angela’s temp confused me, I bake it at 180 C for 40 min then cover it with foil for another 20min. That way the bread is baked otherwise it is wet. It’s best eaten/sliced the next day. Also I omit the sugar and add 1 extra TBs of agave syrup and reduce the water in the flaxseed by one. I wasn’t kidding about the healthy vegan. No vegan butter or sugar in the recipes I cook.

Thank you Angela for your recipes. I am not a vegan by the way but my husband is a recent one. Or rather a health addict. However your recipes are so good I’ve eaten quite a few of your recipes. I’ve done so many- Universal salad,red quinoa/ black bean, the X’mas meatloaf one, and I forget the rest. Your tomato soup with red lentil is the best soup I’ve ever tasted.

I always turn to baking when I am feeling down/depressed/angry/upset/stressed (you name it). I’m sure it benefits my colleagues to wind me up :-) I have all those ingredients at home so I can see myself hurrying to make these. My prayers are with all those who are affected by this .

This looks amazing!! Do you think I could substitute protein powder for the ground buckwheat groats?

Hey Joy, To be honest I haven’t had much luck when using protein powder in baked granola bars. I find it tends to come out chalky? Add at your own risk ;) and please let us know how it goes if you try it!

I’ve been trying to decide what to do with a bunch of spotted bananas sitting on the counter… thanks for today’s snack :) I only hope buckwheat flour works instead of freshly ground buckwheat grouts! Everything else is in the pantry ready to go when the baby and I get back from our walk/run. Have to take advantage of the sun being out while it lasts :)

Makenzie Ann @ KenzysKitchen

Thanks for sharing your heart with us today Angela; you are not alone in your feelings of confusion that’s for sure. I hope to make these bars this weekend and I will try the oat flour if I do!

So yummy. I’m going to try these. Question though – do you know about how long they would stay good? I’d like to make enough to last a good week or so. Any suggestions on that? :)

Love the recipe and some comfort food right now is fine indeed. It’s always been a way people come together in my house. Hoping to make these for a girl’s tea party next week in honor of two little girls whose daddy is serving in the military right now. Might make an extra batch to send to my son, who lives in Boston and was one mile from the explosions (so glad he didn’t run this year)!

These bars looks delicious and seem simple enough to make all the time for a quick protein snack, thanks for sharing as always Angela! ;)

Heather

Yaaaah buckwheat! I am absolutely in love with these. They look so soft + chewy. Can’t wait to try them!

YUM! Is there anything I could use to replace the buckwheat groats? I would love to make these (esp. since I’m totally gluten free now), but I don’t think I have those on hand.

If those bars of yum don’t comfort you, I don’t know what will. I can’t wait to make them. I think I might try a batch with 1/2 cup of mac nuts. Mmmm.

Could oatmeal (ground in the food processor) or wheat flour work in place of the buckwheat? Could I sub. honey for the syrup?

Hi Brooke, I would imagine oat flour would work fine as a replacement, but I haven’t tried it. Wheat flour could be too drying. I would also guess honey could work, however it’s slightly less binding then coconut nectar and brown rice syrup so it might be a tad more crumbly. goodluck!

I tried it with wheat flour and it worked out very nicely!

I used 1/2 c wheat flour minus 2 T and then added 2 T hemp seed. Otherwise, I followed the recipe and they are delicious!

I know exactly what you mean about turning to food to distract yourself…I feel like I’ve been cooking more than ever this week :/ These bars looks just fabulous. I’m going to pick up some buckwheat groats in the bulk isle so I can make these beauties ASAP!

These granola bars combine two of my favorite things; banana bread and granola. Definitely comfort food at its finest, thanks Angela.

I cannot wait to try these! I love anything I can make into a bar or a ball, anything bite size… so these will be a welcome addition to me grab-able snacks!! They look divine! Comforting, healthy, and delicious!

YUM! I love the use of oats AND buckwheat… I have big love for buckwheat :)

I am going to use buckwheat flour, since I have that and not groats. I’ll let you know how it turns out.