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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Wow! You’ve somehow managed to combine all of my favorite flavors into one amazing looking bar. Thank you again! Can’t wait to try these
These look awesome. So much love for all things banana and peanut butter.
Plus, I actually have almost all of these things in my dorm room (minus honey and coconut which I can steal from the dining hall haha) so I can actually make them this week! Keep staying strong during this difficult time. :)
These sound fabulous! Love this idea!
Hi Angela,
These look like great snack bars. Is the banana flavor very strong in the finished product? I’m not a huge banana fan, so do you think I could sub some apple sauce for part of the banana? Thanks for your thoughts!
Is there something you could sub for the coconut? I just recently ran out and haven’t had a chance to get to the only store around me that sells unsweetend coconut. These look delicious and I’d love to try them. Thank you for the recipe!
Just made these! Delicious! I subbed in carob molasses for the coconut nectar syrup and they turned out perfectly (like all of your recipes). Thanks!
Hey Angela, I know this has nothing to do with the bars but congrats on being featured in the May issue of Women’s Health Magazine! I was reading the “Great Cooking Bonus” piece, saw your name in the credits and thought “Yay! She’s awesome and now she’s in this mag!”. Anyway, just wanted to say that :)
Aw thank you! Glad you spotted it :)
This looks delicious! I love the texture that’s added with the coconut!
Angela,
this words resonated with me. I see it fitting to share them with you if you haven`t read them already;I hope they bring you some comfort.
“This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness,”
But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We’d have eaten ourselves alive long ago.
So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, ‘The good outnumber you, and we always will.’ ”
Patton Oswalt.
That is so beautiful..thank you for sharing!
I’m glad you a chance to check my post!
thank You for always making me strive to be my best possible self from the inside out.
big((Huggss )) from New York.
This looks yummy, although I generally don’t like banana flavour, I can tolerate it if it’s mild. Would you have an alternative for the bananas?
Monday left me lost and confused too. I just don’t understand why tragedies like this continue to happen. You’re so right that it helps to focus on the positive things though. Or baking. It’s always such a great outlet when I’m sad or stressed. These bars look awesome!
Just made these with almonds instead of walnuts because that’s all I had. They are wonderful! Thanks so much! I have this great little Wilton pan that has 9 little 2.5 x 3.5 rectangles – made perfect bars.
Hey Melissa, So glad they turned out nicely for you – and yes I’m sure many nuts would be tasty in this recipe. Enjoy the rest! Ours didn’t last long.
Oh Ange, great post. I feel the same way as you about the tragedy on Monday, but at the same time am so proud of all of those that have rallied together to provide support. Today was a really nasty day for me (albeit nowhere near as bad in the grand scheme of things as what happened on Monday), but thinking about these bars is already making my day better! :)
I need to pin every 2nd recipe to my Pinterest board. Generally I’m not that into vegan recipes but can’t resist to yours!!
Then I’m doing my job! ;)
I was very privileged to be running this year’s Boston Marathon for my first time. It really is an amazing event full of kind volunteers, amazing athletes, and wildly supportive fans. I think the Boston marathon, and marathons in general really break down barriers of race, religion, age, etc., and put us all on an even playing field where we can pour our hearts (and legs!) out.
Like many of you, I still can’t wrap my head around what happened in Boston on Monday. I heard the explosions from just a few blocks away, and I’ve seen the footage again and again. It is so hard to believe.
You are right, there is way more good out there. Thank you so much Angela for sharing much more than a delicious recipe this week!
So glad you are safe Katie!
Holy Angela, these look AMAZING!!! I think I need to make a trip to the Bulk Barn to pick up some of these ingredients! haha
These look incredible! Thank you for the recipe, they are on my to-do-asap-list!
This recipe is amazing! They are perfect to carry with me throughout the day during school and work. I find that they give me a good energy boost as well. Thank you for posting this!!
Thanks for trying the bars out Chad! I am happy you enjoyed them.
Sending you all my love from Amsterdam! The bread looks delicious. If I was not all inte RAW vegan right now I would definitely give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
These look divine! Is there something you would suggest to use in place of buckwheat groats? I find that they have too much fiber and cause bloating and gas…thanks!