Oatmeal Snack Bars

I was so excited to find this recipe earlier this week. I've been looking for a recipe for a low-sugar, whole grain snack bar that I could make... and with a few minor changes to the original recipe, this worked perfectly for us! The bars are delicious, low-sugar, whole grain, and have some good protein as an added bonus. By my rough calculation, each bar has approximately 150 calories (but don't quote me on that). And these are super easy to make!


Oatmeal Snack Bars (adapted from Kath Eats Real Food blog)

You will need:

• 3 cups rolled oats (mine were quick oats and worked just fine)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 bananas, mashed (this is what I had on hand, so this is what I used. You could sub any dried or fresh fruit here)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/2 cups skim milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (Optional- I added this because I thought it might need the sweetness. If you are using bananas, I don't think this is necessary due to the natural sweetness of the bananas. Next time I will probably decrease or eliminate the brown sugar completely.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients.
Mix all wet ingredients.
Mix wet and dry together.
Pour into a 13x9 baking dish lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pan, then pop the whole thing out of the pan (this is where the parchment paper comes in handy!) Let cool completely, then cut into 18 bars. I used a pizza wheel to cut, which worked out beautifully!
I wrapped each bar individually in saran wrap, then packed them into a freezer bag and popped them into the freezer. To eat, I remove the saran wrap, wrap in a paper towel, and heat in the microwave until nice and warm (takes about 1 minute if completely frozen). You certainly don't need to freeze these, but I wanted something we could throw into our lunch to eat during the day, and the freezing option works well for us.
These smell, and taste, so delicious. Definitely a new favorite! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!