The heart-healthy power bars have all the ingredients one might have on a banana split: made with quinoa, rolled oats, dried cherries, nuts and honey. Plus antioxidants from the cinnamon and chocolate – and they taste good too!
Banana Split Quinoa Oat Bars
I love making bars for the easiest on-the-go snack. A few of my favorites are Chewy Pecan Raisin Chocolate Granola, Skinny Cranberry Bliss Bars and Morning Maple Cranberry Pecan Oat Bars.
I got a copy of the Power Hungry: The Ultimate Energy Bar Cookbook and couldn’t decide which recipe I wanted to make first, they all look so good. Such a fun book, I asked them if they wanted to give some away to my fans and they said YES! So, three lucky winners will have a chance to win this cookbook, with loads of recipes for protein bars, granola bars, endurance bars, and even knock-offs of many store bought bars like Luna bars, Clif bars, and Kind bars to name a few. All the recipes are healthy, easy to make and use all natural ingredients. For a chance to win, visit Skinny Bits and leave a comment there.
These make a great snack, perfect to pack in your lunch bag, or great for powering up a workout or post-workout. While these bars weren’t a big hit with my picky 3 year old, I thought these were tasty (I think she’ll love the chocolate chip protein cookies). For variations of this, you can make a Maple Blueberry Bar, swapping out the cherries and honey for maple syrup and dried blueberries, or she suggests a Peanut Chocolate Banana Bar omitting the cinnamon and cherries and adding 2/3 cup of dry roasted peanuts in place of the walnuts.
To store, wrap them individually with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months, keeping them airtight.
Banana Split Quinoa Oat Bars
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed well
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups quick rolled oats, use gf oats for gluten free
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1-1/2 cups very ripe mashed bananas
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup raw honey, or pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, or craisins
- 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
- 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with 2 pieces of foil or parchment paper, criss-crossing over so they fold over the pan; spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Combine the quinoa and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until liquid is barely absorbed.
- Remove from heat.
- Cover and let stand for 5 to 6 minutes, remove lid and fluff with a fork.
- Transfer to a medium bowl and let it cool completely.
- Mix together the oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add mashed bananas, egg, honey, oil and vanilla to the cooked bowl of quinoa and stir until just blended.
- Add the banana mixture to the oats mixture and stir until just blended.
- Mix in dried cherries, walnuts and chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter evenly over the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- For best results, refrigerate 20 minutes before cutting.
- Using the liner, lift the mixture from the pan and transfer to a cutting board.
- Cut into 16 bars and refrigerate or freeze to store.