a simple real food recipe :: energy bars :: grain free, dairy free, with egg free option

This is one of those recipes that I completely made up that wasn’t supposed to end up being what it actually is – does that even make sense?!

A couple years ago when I was still off grains for some gut healing, I was trying to figure out a way to make a sort of chocolate chip cookie. One of my batches came out with the consistency of this batter, and after deciding that I didn’t want to thicken it up at all to be able to form a “cookie”, I decided to just pour it into a baking dish and see what happened.

These soft, almost cakey bars are really a perfect energy boost using bananas to sweeten and provide a carbohydrate, and almonds for protein and energy. I don’t use a lot of “all almond flour” recipes anymore as I really like to promote food rotation and not over doing the nuts – but these simple small snacks provide a great, quick nourishing snack if we are on the go running the girls around at the park, splash pad, beach, or errands. They pack up nice for school snacks too.

You’ll Need:
2 ripe bananas
1 cup blanched almond flour
3 TB coconut flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp sea salt
½ cup natural peanut butter
3 eggs (Use egg replacer or flax eggs if you are egg free)
¼ cup melted coconut oil or butter
½ cup quality/soy free chocolate chips

1. Mash the bananas into a medium mixing bowl using the back of a fork.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the chocolate chips and blend with hand beater until smooth.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Pour batter into a coconut oiled or buttered 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Check around the 18 minute mark in case our ovens run different.

Kitchen Tips:

•  Freeze up a double or triple batch – you can pull them out in frozen bars and just pack them away frozen in the lunch bags or purse – they’ll thaw by snack or lunch time!
• This is one of my recipes I’m working on triple batching for the freezer for right around baby time – It is perfect to keep by my rocker for mama’s snack during 2am nursings, and it is nice to have the freezer full of kid friendly snacks that Gramma or other helpers can pull out of the freezer for the girls.
• You could add some honey or sucanat to sweeten if you feel it needs it – I feel the bananas give it plenty.
• If you are nut free you could swap out the almond flour for coconut flour – just half the amount. And maybe use sunbutter instead of the peanut butter.

YOUR TURN!
Let me know how the kids like them!

This post was shared at Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday, and Holistic Squid’s Party Wave Wednesday!