Flourless Banana-Quinoa Breakfast Bars

Flourless Banana-Quinoa Breakfast Bars

Quinoa is an excellent source of protein, fibre, vitamins and  minerals. It is an excellent addition to salads and main dishes but it can also be used in baking.

These bars are a new favourite snack for my grandson and are very easy to make. I modified the original recipe by Alyssa Rimmer at Simply Quinoa.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup cooked quinoa

1/3 cup coconut sugar (can be excluded without ruining the taste)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt (can be excluded)

2 flax eggs*

1 cup mashed bananas (2 med.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup nut butter of your choice

*A flax egg is 1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoons water. Let stand for at least 20 minutes.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper and grease the sides.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, quinoa, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix the banana, vanilla and nut butter together. Stir in the flax eggs and pour this mixture over the dry ingredients, mixing everything together until fully incorporated. The batter should be moist but not runny.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with spatula.

Bake on the centre rack for 15-20 minutes until the bars are golden brown and hard to the touch.

Remove and let cool completely in the pan, then remove and slice into squares. Store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.