Banana Almond Butter Breakfast Bars

I know many people love Halloween, but it’s probably my least favorite holiday. As a child, I never really celebrated Halloween. I do remember attending our church’s annual “Harvest Festival” party a few times, but that’s pretty much it.  I vaguely remember going to the pumpkin patch with my kindergarten class, but I’ve never carved a jack-o-lantern or gone trick-or-treating, not even once.

Honestly, though, I never felt like I was missing out. I do not enjoy getting spooked at haunted houses, dislike dressing up in costumes, and don’t like candy all that much (except for chocolate!). Also, my birthday is just a couple of days after Halloween, and I feel like that is always much more fun to celebrate 🙂

The only reason I was excited about today was that it would give me an excuse to bake a Halloween treat. I saw a lot of really creative inspirations for a potential Halloween baking project. Some of my top contenders were Halloween Oreo Cheesecakes, Halloween Candy Bark, and Candy Corn Cookies. However, anticipating a weekend of birthday festivities (pigging out), I decided against baking a Halloween treat. Lame, I know.

Instead, I made these super healthy breakfast bars. I had some overripe bananas (I hate brown spots!) so I decided to mix them up with almond butter (SO much yummier than peanut butter) and a few other random brown things that are supposed to be good for you. I totally just threw the ingredients together, so I wasn’t expecting fabulous results, but they were a success! They were really tasty, and had a wholesome, naturally sweet flavor.

Also, these breakfast bars are a great source of whole grains, protein, and fiber. They are super filling and don’t taste too “healthy” at all. Plus, they made me feel slightly better about the copious amounts of sugar and fat I consumed this weekend 🙂

Banana Almond Butter Breakfast Bars

Source: an original

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 tablespoons honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease 8×8 inch baking dish.

2. In  a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, wheat bran, wheat germ, flax seed meal, cinnamon, baking soda, baking bowder, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add egg white, almond butter, and honey and mix thoroughly. Pour in dry ingredients and stir to combine.

4. Spread mixture evenly in prepared baking dish and sprinkle oats on top.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes. Cool slightly before cutting into bars and serving.