Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Vegan Banana & Chocolate Chip Oat Bars

I have a great recipe for you today! There aren't a lot of things I love more than oatmeal these days. Oatmeal on-the-go is something I love even more than oats in a bowl! These vegan banana & chocolate chip oat bars are quick to make and quick to grab. They were much faster to eat for breakfast this morning than making myself a bowl of oatmeal. Not only are they whole wheat but also vegan...and healthy! Only a little bit of sugar and no butter in these bad boys. And while they are perfect for breakfast, they are just as good with a cup of tea as an afternoon snack.


Ingredients: (adapted from here)
  • 1 banana (mashed)
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup whole banana chips (or chopped)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 cups rolled oats
-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 inch pan.

-Begin by mashing your banana in a small bowl. Add in the canola oil and brown sugar and mix all of these ingredients well.

-In a larger bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and oats).

-Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix (do not over mix). Add the chocolate chips and banana chips and stir a few times (may take a few minutes since the batter is a little on the dry side).

-Bake in oven for about 20-25 minutes.


Oh. so. yummy! Jeff approved of these as a breakfast item! He had two this morning.


These are also kid-friendly. If you are a vegan parent out there and need some vegan recipe ideas that your kids will also love, this is for you! Who doesn't love chocolate and bananas? (Well, my dad hates bananas...but most people love them, right?)


Jeff and I are are heading over to our friend Lauren & Fritz's house tonight to celebrate Fritz's birthday! Lauren made an amazing three-layer chocolate cake with strawberry filling and chocolate ganache as the birthday boy requested. We are eating well today!

Note: Exciting news! We now have our own domain name! Jeff was going to surprise me with this as a birthday present in a few weeks but I unfortunately saw in his e-mail that he bought us our own website domain name. If you go to our old (blogspot) domain it will redirect you to here. But just to update you, our website is now: http://www.abicyclebuiltfor2.com

Hope you find time soon to make these healthy bars and enjoy them as much as we are :)

11 comments:

Lauren@LittleYellowKitchen said... Best Blogger Tips

So I debated and debated and decided to make peanut butter banana oatmeal squares(http://gingerbreadcake.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/peanut-butter-banana-oatmeal-squares/) instead of these ELR ones. It was a tough decision but they were sooo good! No flour or butter in those either. Try them out for a comparison :)

Cait @ A Bicycle Built for Two said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you for sharing that recipe! I am def making those ones this weekend once we run out of these...they look great and even healthier without the flour :)

Jocie's Mom said... Best Blogger Tips

Congrats on the new home! Makes things so much easier, I'm sure :)

Lovely yummies :) Anything that's a quick grab before work AND tasty is a big win in my book. Thanks for sharing!

Kathy said... Best Blogger Tips

I can make these right now, but I won't, since I've already ate dinner, and if I make them you won't be able to see another square in an hour once they're finished ;)
But they are getting bookmarked!!

Mrs. JM said... Best Blogger Tips

wouldn't you know it!? i have everything i need to make these TOMORROW! thanks for the recipe.

Rebecca said... Best Blogger Tips

Ahh, what a coincidence! I was craving granola bars a few days ago so I ended up making something almost exactly like this. However, mine were flour-and-banana-less, I used honey instead of sugar, and I threw in some flax seed and almonds in there for good measure! You can also use the rice krispies type cereal in addition to the oats. :)

Leslie said... Best Blogger Tips

Just a reminder, chocolate isn't vegan. There's milk in chocolate. You can use carob chips and then the bars would be totally vegan! They look great!

Cait @ A Bicycle Built for Two said... Best Blogger Tips

Leslie- True! I should have specified in the ingredients. There are vegan chocolate chips (which I used). I found mine at Whole Foods but lots of health stores carry them :)

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

I made these this weekend. I didn't use the banana chips (I love bananas but hate them for some reason), and they were SO good! My fiance and I are making these for our Easter brunch! Thanks!!

Lisa S

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

these are delish! I used unsweetened applesauce in place of oil! Still yummy!

Lesley said... Best Blogger Tips

I made these bars a few months ago and LOVED them, and they also passed my husband's test. :) He asked me to make them again today so I'm about to start! I noticed you haven't blogged in awhile. Keep the recipes comin'- they are great! And you two are super cute. :)

 
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