banana baking frenzy

What a perfect day...
Thunderstorms in the afternoon, friends to enjoy dinner with, and a bunch of bananas at their ripest and mushiest just asking to be used in some delicious recipe. So on today's list of banana baking goodies were peanut butter and banana dog treats, whole wheat banana nut bread, and peanut butter protein bars. Since I've already shared a recipe for puppy treats, and banana nut bread is pretty self-explanatory, I thought I would share the recipe for these perfect protein bars.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars (adapted from SparkRecipes)

Ingredients
Dry:
1 1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. dried fruit (I used a mixture of raisins and Craisins)
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/4 c. chopped almonds

Optional:
3 scoops vanilla whey protein powder (I used chocolate since that's what my manly man likes after a workout)
2 tbsp. flax seed (I used milled flax seed, but the whole seed would work here as well)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

 
Wet:
1 ripe mashed banana
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. peanut butter (or any nut butter)
1 tsp. vanilla 

Directions:
- Combine all DRY ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mash ripe banana and add all wet ingredients.
-Pour wet ingredients into dry, and mix well.
- Spread mixture into 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish lined with wax paper. Press until flat.

- Place dish in freezer for a few hours, until firm. Remove from dish and carefully cut into squares or logs.

-  For convenient snacking, wrap bars individually in plastic wrap.

- Keep bars stored in refrigerator or freezer for up to a month. They soften super fast at room temperature.


My thoughts:
If I were to make these bars again there are some definite changes I would make. The first thing I would do is cut back on the sugar. Shoooooweeee. I wanted to follow the recipe the first time because I haven't had the best of luck making any type of bars before.....granola bars, protein bars, etc. I would probably substitute raw honey for the maple syrup, and maybe add some extra dried fruit in place of the chocolate chips. I would also use rolled oats instead of the quick oats I had on hand. 
One downside to these yummy healthy treats is that they're pretty sticky as they start to warm up to room temperature. So they're definitely not a grab and jump in the car kind of snack. 

Hope you try them! They really are worth it. :)