Healthy Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Oat Breakfast Bars

1.  That title is a mouthful!

2.  I can't believe I haven't blogged on this blog in a year.  That's ridiculous.

3.  I didn't eat these as breakfast...  These were a dessert.  They are that good.  Below is the recipe as I made it (I followed it pretty exactly, just used butter instead of coconut oil).  Here is the link to the original.  I am not concerned with the gluten-free aspect, so that isn't a focus in my ingredients.  But this very easily is gluten-free.  My thing is trying to cut back on refined sugars.  So this really hit the spot and was amazing.


2 1/4 cups oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 medium, ripe bananas, peeled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Drizzle: 
1/2 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

To make oat flour: Place oats into blender or food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until oatmeal resembles flour. You may need to stop blender and stir oats a couple of times to ensure that all oats have been blended. Transfer oat flour medium bowl; whisk in baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

Place bananas, vanilla, applesauce, and honey into blender; blend 1-2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add to oat flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Gently fold in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly with rubber spatula. Bake for 15 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Cool 10-15 minutes on wire rack.

Prepare drizzle by adding 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips and butter in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high 30 seconds; stir well to combine then drizzle over the top of bars. Cut bars into 16 squares and enjoy!  (My drizzle wasn't super drizzly, so I may have burned my chocolate a little or maybe the butter isn't as great for this as the coconut oil...  So I put mine in a little snack-size ziploc and cut off a corner and squeezed it out over the bars.  Still tasty!)


Anyway, this woman who came up with this recipe is awesome beyond words in my book.  I have some nephews who have quite a few food allergies to contend with... I sent this link to my sister-in-law, because I am pretty sure this is something the boys can have, and it is seriously so good.  In fact, I need to make another batch :).

Now if only all healthy desserts could be this good!

Pumpkin Pie Green Smoothie

Some of you may be aware that I've been on a green smoothie kick as of late.  The truth is:  I'm a terrible vegetable-eater.  I like my food to taste delicious, and veggies that aren't totally dressed up (which sometimes takes some creativity and effort) just don't appeal to me. 

But I like V-8 juice. 

And I like smoothies.

So clearly, getting my veggies in a liquid manner seems to work for me.  And so I've been doing the green smoothie thing. 

Today, I also decided to work on getting rid of some of the (copious amounts of) pureed squash we have hanging around our house.  I'm not complaining about this, as I love having all this stuff at my fingertips for making breads and pies, etc.  It's just that I recognize I need to actually use it ;).  We got squash from our own garden last summer, and we also got a 20-pound winter squash from my in-laws.  Ergo, we have lots of pureed squash in our freezers.

So today I decided to pinterest some pumpkin smoothie recipes.  And lo and behold, I found one that was a green smoothie as well!  So I had to try it.  Even if it isn't fall ;).  I found the original recipe here.  But below is how I adapted it to my personal tastes (and what I had on hand).

PUMPKIN PIE GREEN SMOOTHIE
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
sprinkle of cloves
sprinkle of nutmeg
1 ripe banana
3 small handfuls fresh baby spinach (probably about 3 cups, loosely packed)
1 tablespoon honey (ours was raw, since we got it from Jeremy's brother who has bee hives)

Add ingredients to blender (I suggest putting everything in but spinach and banana.  Then add the spinach on top and then the banana to weigh it down).  Blend on high (or smoothie setting) a couple minutes until well-blended and smooth.


This wasn't as sweet as some of the green smoothies I've made (like I said, my vegetables have to taste good...).  That's why I added honey initially, because the banana wasn't sweet enough for me.  But once I added the honey, I really liked it -- even though it still wasn't as sweet as other smoothies I've made which have more fruits.  And Lynnaea liked it a lot too.  She came back for more 3 times!  So I say it's a win :). 

Also, the recipe above makes about 3 cups, so cut it back as needed.  I just wanted to make sure there was plenty to go around ;). 

So yep, I used up some squash...  Got in some spinach...  It's all good :)!

Frankenmuffins

I don't know about most people, but as for myself...  I know I could do better at getting veggies into my body.  And more importantly to me at this point, as a mother, I want to get more veggies into my sweet little girl.  Her diet is determined largely by me (and somewhat by her dad, and I'll admit it:  he's a healthier eater than I am).  So it is up to me to make sure she is getting what she needs.  And, I often fall short on the veggies.  It's one of the reason I'm looking forward to a high-end blender and some green smoothies! 

Because I want my veggies to taste yummy.  And I'm always on the lookout for delicious recipes that include vegetables.  My stir-fry veggies recipe has helped me a lot.  I really like getting a variety of vegetables that way.  My husband loves it.  And so does my toddler.  But I don't make them every day, of course.  And so it's nice to have other recipes to turn to :). 

Well, this recipe is bomb.  My friend Lea saved some Family Fun magazines for me -- figuring I may find some family fun stuff to do with my young family!  And I found several awesome things.  Including a recipe for Frankenmuffins!  Granted, they are named to be suited for Halloween.  And I probably will make them for Halloween for sure!  But I wanted to try them out, and since I had all the ingredients (thanks to my THRIVE Spinach!), I felt motivated to do it today :).

FRANKENMUFFINS
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup milk (I used whole milk because it's what I had in the fridge)
6 ounces (6 cups packed) fresh baby spinach  (I used 3 cups THRIVE Chopped Spinach and rehydrated it)
1 large ripe banana
2 teaspoons vanilla (I used THRIVE Pure Vanilla Powder)

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 16 muffin cups with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine first 7 ingredients and stir with a mix until well combined. 

In a blender, add the oil, milk, and spinach.  Puree until smooth.  Add banana and vanilla and blend until all is well combined.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until completely mixed (I used my stand mixer).

Fill each prepared muffin well two-thirds full.  Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes (mine took 17).

And seriously...  This recipe is amazing.  The batter tastes good too, just fyi.  And there's no raw egg, so it's pregnant-lady and toddler friendly ;).  But the real test is the muffin itself, right? And they are so good.  Especially about 10 minutes after I pulled them out of the oven! 

And so now you have an adult's opinion on them.  I think they taste great.  And I love that they have spinach and we're getting veggies.  And that there is whole wheat, which is also good stuff. 

But what does my toddler think?  So, I gave her half of one for a snack.  She gobbled that thing up and asked for more.  Which I didn't give her, as it's close to dinner time.  But I am thrilled that she liked it so much!  And the way I see it, these could even be used as a breakfast.  What a great way to get some veggies in you first thing in the morning!

So moms...  If you want something new to get veggies into your kiddos, give this recipe a try!  I will be making it again and again!