Crunchy PB Banana Bars

Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone, and it was a beautiful weekend to get outside. I found myself doing a ton around the house, keeping busy, and off my phone - something I really try to do more often. We often get sucked into being on the phone for most of our days, mindlessly scrolling and why spend an amazing weekend like that!?

Anyway, in the middle of all that outdoors fun, of course comes some time in the kitchen - and that's where these crunchy chunky PB banana bars come to play. They're packed with all the good stuff: hemp hearts, chia, flax, and maca, and sweetened by just a little maple syrup and banana chips - and topped with chocolate because #chocolateislife, duh. They're also dumb easy, are require mostly more time to blend in the food processor, than they do to actually bake - in fact, you could leave these unbaked if you preferred (although they may be more crumbly if you do) These babies have nearly 8 grams of protein per serving, so you don't even need to feel guilty about having one as dessert.

In a food processor, blend together banana chips, oats and coconut flour so that the chips are mostly broken down - you want it to be kind of crumbly. Then its as simple as adding in the remainder of the ingredients: maca (optional), salt, hemp hearts, chia, ground flax, peanut butter (or any other nut butter), maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Blend until it begins to form a dough and ball up around the blade. When it feels tacky, you're ready to press into a pan.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and firmly press into a 8x11 (Ish) inch pan. I line mine with parchment for easier removal. I also use a glass to really push the dough into the pan - you want it to be as compacted as possible. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until edges are slightly browned. Allow to cool, then drizzle with melted chocolate (or even more PB!) and keep in the fridge or on your counter.

Crunchy PB Banana Bars (GF/V)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups banana chips

• 1 cup old fashioned oats

• 1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons hemp hearts

• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

• 2 tablespoons ground flax

• 2 tablespoons coconut flour

• 1/2 cup peanut butter (or nut butter)

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon vanilla

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 cup melted dairy free chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x11 inch pan with parchment. Set aside

2. In food processor, blend together oats, banana chips and coconut flour until crumbly.

3. Then add in the remainder of the ingredients except chocolate and blend for a few minutes until a dough forms and a ball forms around the bowl of the food processor.

4. Press firmly into the baking pan (use a glass for added pressure) and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on the edges.

5. Remove from oven, allow to cool, before drizzling melted chocolate over the top.

xx

Rita