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Pre-Workout Banana Bars

Servings 12 bars
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 large bananas mashed
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup flour i used white whole wheat
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together bananas, applesauce, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla.
  • Add oats, flour, salt and baking soda. Mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
  • Grease an 8x8 baking pan. Pour in batter.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brown along the edges.
  • Store in the fridge for a week.

Notes

Other Thoughts:
  • You could swap the chocolate chips for dried fruit for extra carbohydrates and even less fat. Or, get super fancy and use both!
  • Hypothetically, you could swap any all purpose gluten free flour, if need be. But, I would not recommend swapping a higher fat (almond flour) or higher fiber (garbanzo bean flour) gluten free flour if you plan to use these as a pre-workout snack. That is unless you have an iron clad stomach, if so, I'm stating for the record that I'm jealous.
  • I have found that anything made from ripe bananas continues to 'ripen' after baking quite quickly. So, if you plan to use most days of the week before your workout, keep 4-5 in the refrigerator and freeze the others for optimal texture.
  • Toss the frozen bar into the microwave for 15-20 seconds and enjoy.
 
How-to-Use:
Athletes: These are made specifically to be used as a quick fuel source before training. So, eat one 15-60 minutes before your workout. Don't let the purpose of these bars persuade you from getting creative though. These are also delicious as a bed time snack, breakfast, and side dish to lunch.
Healthy Eating: As mentioned above, these are also a great snack to eat any time of day. They have a cake-like texture to them (vs a hard granola bar texture.) So, I particularly enjoy these as an after meal sweet treat. Because a meal isn't finished in my eyes without something 'sweet.'
Kids: If you're feeling generous, cut up 6 big hunks for yourself for the week and then cut the rest into 4 smaller pieces and share with your kids. They'll hopefully thank you for sharing.