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, creamy avocado pasta, or warm walnut banana bread is just the thing we need in that moment. Other days, it’s a big kale salad or a juicy basket of strawberries and coconut cream. Monday night, I made pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce while we watched the news. I felt like a zombie as I cooked, but I knew we needed something to settle our bellies.
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.
These banana bread bars were my solution to another comfort food craving yesterday. Think of them as soft, doughy granola bars filled with crunchy walnuts, omega-3 lovin’ chia seeds, and a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips. The wet batter is made up of spotty bananas, a generous scoop of protein-packed peanut butter, a splash of vanilla, and just a hint of sweetener to round it all out. I’ve been enjoying them around the clock, so it’s safe to say they work nicely as breakfast, snack, or even dessert. Your call.
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Banana Bread Protein Bars
Yield
10 Bars
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These banana bread bars were my solution to another comfort food craving yesterday. Think of them as soft, doughy granola bars filled with crunchy walnuts, omega-3 lovin’ chia seeds, and a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips. The wet batter is made up of spotty bananas, a generous scoop of protein-packed peanut butter, a splash of vanilla, and just a hint of sweetener to round it all out. I’ve been enjoying them around the clock, so it’s safe to say they work nicely as breakfast, snack, or even dessert. Your call.
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
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F 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.
- 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.
- Mash bananas until smooth and measure out 3/4 cups. Stir together the banana and all the wet ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir well until combined. The dough should be very sticky!
- 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.
- Bake at 350°F for 22-26 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the bread is firm to touch. Cool in the pan completely (I left it for 1 hour) before removing and slicing into bars.
Tip:
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 Upaya Naturals 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.
Nutrition Information
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Love these! Pinned without hesitation!
wow this looks delicious. I haven’t heard of half of the ingredients before but I am definitely in the mood for banana bread!
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.
xo.
From what I have read online, buckwheat (although it has “wheat” in its name), is actually gluten-free. Have you had experiences eating it, that suggest otherwise? Like a gluten reaction?
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?
Thank you for your delicious work! My family loves many of your recipes!
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 used oat flour (ground in food processor), and they were delicious! I also used agave nectar because that’s what I had on hand.
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!
Perfect! I was just going to ask if I could grind oats and use agave! glad I saw you posted this :)
I used honey (where do you buy coconut syrup? My grocery store didn’t have it…) and it turned out great!!!
Love all your recipes, Angel!
Hey Becky, I usually buy it from here http://www.upayanaturals.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=coconut+nectar&Search.x=0&Search.y=0 or from a local grocery store called Organic Garage. Hope this helps!
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!
I also find being in the kitchen to be therapeutic and allow me to try to process my feelings when tragic events like Boston happen. It’s been an emotional week for everyone I think, but inspiring as well to see the running community reach out in so many ways too.
These granola bars combine two of my favorite things; banana bread and granola. Definitely comfort food at its finest, thanks Angela.
I really like the idea for banana bread in a protein bar. Comfort food and healthy to boot? Count me in. Do you think I could sub maple syrup or honey for the brown rice syrup?
Banana bread in bar form…must try this!!
These look and sound sublime — and they’re the perfect comfort food. I also go to the kitchen when faced with difficult, sad, or scary things; I find that nesting, especially cooking, helps me cope. In the weeks after 9/11, I could only watch Comedy Central and cook. I found myself doing similar things on Monday: I got home from work and went straight to the kitchen.
I also completely agree that love prevails. There have been tons of stories about peoples’ compassion, kindness, and caring in the wake of the bombing, and I’ve decided that *that* is what I want to focus on.
There’s an MLK quote that I used for my post-Boston blog post: “Darkness cannot drive out darkenss; only love can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” The best thing we can all do is to choose love. We can help people cope, help them heal once the time comes for that, and be good to each other. When people choose love and compassion, hate and violence — and the people who perpetrate them — don’t stand a chance.
This is such a great idea! They sound delicious and healthy too!
I completely agree, whenever I feel a bit lost I head to the kitchen to soothe and unwind. That’s probably why my fridge is now full of things I baked and cooked Monday and yesterday! These look wonderful and I know my honey will love the banana flavor bars! Thanks for posting, Alex
Hi 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!
There’s nothing like good food to draw people together, especially at a time like this when all are a little sensitive and disoriented by recent events. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and this delicious looking bar recipe. :-)
YUM! I love the use of oats AND buckwheat… I have big love for buckwheat :)
oh my gosh, yum! i’m going to try these next week with oat flour since i already have it, will let you know how it turns out.
Love you blog so much Angela!! Doyou think honey or would work instead of brown rice syrup? or Maple syrup?
Thanks!!
Since I have no gluten issues can I just use regular rolled oats? AND, until I can get to Whole Foods….is there a (common) substitute for the groats?
Thanks.
Also….do you have a good recipe for granola trail bars that are soft, yet will hold together?
Thanks.
I love you so much for saying that sometimes it’s okay to seek comfort in food. I think it’s been driven into us through so many mediums that we shouldn’t eat food if we’re sad/depressed/happy/etc and only eat food because it’s nourishing. In fact, just the other day I was browsing through Pinterest and I found what I believe was supposed to be motivation for losing weight and eating healthy that basically said, from this point forward you won’t eat any white bread, no sugar, no this, no that, food is only meant to sustain your body, it doesn’t matter what it tastes like…
And it made me so angry! Food is so much more that just what goes in and what comes out. Food is social, moral and ethical and can reflect cultural and religious values. Yeah, of course seeking comfort in food regularly can be negative, just like all things can have negative and positive aspects. Anyway, long comment, but it’s refreshing to hear you say it :)
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I have a question about brown rice syrup: is it lower on the glycemic index?
I am going to use buckwheat flour, since I have that and not groats. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Hi Kim, coconut nectar has a low GI (35-40), I believe one of the lowest of sweeteners. I’m not sure about BRS as I’ve read conflicting info about it online. Yes please do let me know how it turns out!
How did the buckwheat flour work?? I found it at the Fresh Market near me, and I was going to try it as well. I have a place in town that has the raw groats- but it is not convenient at all and I am really hoping the flour works!! I need to just make a trip and get a bunch of the groats one weekend, just so I can make all of the great recipes- made the Carrot cake porridge once and loved it!
I made these bars this afternoon. I used Bob’s Red Mill buckwheat flour. I think they came out well. A pinch darker as I expected and maybe a bit stronger in flavor? Overall I was pleased. Thanks for creating the recipes that you do. It’s hard to find gluten free recipes that are whole grain. I read so many recipes that start with something like “1/2 cup cornstarch”. I am gluten free (intolerant and Hashimotos) and I don’t want to replace everything with starch!
I plan on trying more of your recipes. Thanks again!