Banana Granola Bars (GF, Added-Sugar Free, Vegan)

I live off of this protein bar recipe. They are excellent, and all natural, and not in the All-Natural Jiffy peanut butter "I'm all natural with just a touch of sugar and palm oil" false-labeling kind of way. I eat one or four everyday- it's probably past the point of moderation, but they call my name, all the time (How do they know my name. Weird, right?). I wish I could tell them to shut up! But that would be mean of me, and I'm very nice so I'm likely just going to keep eating them.

Lately I've been forming them into balls instead of bars since they hold together better that way, and a ball is just way cuter than a bar. Plus, there's a lot of dirty, inappropriate jokes you can make about a batch of balls. Sorry, but it's true. I will restrain myself here but my 16 year-old inner-self really wants to talk about balls.

As much as I love my protein balls, every once in a while, I need to switch it up. I also love granola bars and banana bread, so this recipe is my take on a Re-Boot-friendly granola bar/banana bread recipe. They are soft and chewy (with just a little crunch) and taste every bit a sinful snack, but I promise, these are loaded with good for you stuff. It has no refined sugar - the only sugar comes from fruit, and if you use gluten-free oats, it's perfect for wheat-free-ers. You also won't find any butter or eggs here (all your vegan friends are going to love you. No vegans in your life? C'mon. Go find one. Everyone needs to have at least one token vegan friend, otherwise dinner parties are way too easy). The fat comes from nuts and coconut. While there is some debate on the health benefits of coconut, it appears to be metabolized quickly and used as energy immediately (rather than stored), and thus, it is not a bad choice, especially if you love the taste. There's lots of research being done right now with coconut related to other health benefits, like alzheimer's and cardiovascular health, so stay tuned. Anyway, these bars, not balls, are DE-licious. The first batch I made was OK, but after a little tweaking, I think it's just about right.

Mission Healthy Snacks Beyond Balls: Accomplished.

Banana Granola Bars

Yield: 12 bars

Dry ingredients:

•   2/3 cup gluten-free rolled oats

•   1/2 cup almond meal

•   1/3 cup chopped walnuts

•   2 Tbsp sunflower seeds

•   1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

•   2 Tbsp chia seeds

•   2 Tbsp Cacao powder (I love Cacao Magic from thephilosophie.com)

•   1/3 cup dried, unsweetened fruit (original recipe calls for chocolate chips) – I like the organic mix sold at Costco made with cherries, blueberries, goji berries, and cranberries

•   1/4 tsp cinnamon (add more to taste)

•   1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt

Wet ingredients:

•   3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)

•   1/4 cup natural smooth almond butter

•   ¼ cup natural peanut butter

•   5 large pitted dates, chopped up (will be mushy)

•   1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8-inch square pan parchment paper.

2. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

3. Mash bananas until smooth. Stir together the banana and all the wet ingredients in a bowl.

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

5. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Spread out the batter evenly.

6. Bake at 350F for 22-26 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the bread is firm to touch. Let cool before slicing.