cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Banana Nut Quinoa Bars

I’ve got another tasty quinoa bar recipe for you today!  I am so excited about making different flavor variations for these bars; they’re so perfect for on-the-go snacking.  I’ve been keeping them in the freezer and just tossing them in my bag whenever I go to work or out somewhere, so they’re usually thawed and perfect but he time I want them!  The cherry quinoa bars were lifesavers when I went hiking this weekend with some friends at the Niagara River gorge.  We ended up doing one of the trails, Devil’s Hole, hiked back up all the stairs, stopped to take a slight break to munch on a bar, then went back down and did the other trail, Whirlpool.  We stopped to cool our feet off in shallows of the river where the rapids splash up on the rocks and split the last bar between the three of us before heading back up the many stairs.

Isn’t the color of the water absolutely gorgeous?!  We started out at around 10:30 AM on our hike and finished it up at 3:15 PM.  Talk about a long hike, haha!  Without those bars, I doubt we would’ve done the second trail.  We ended up stopping for lunch on the way home at my favorite Greek restaurant, Olympia, for open chicken souvlakis.  I have never eaten so much of that salad before; we definitely worked up pretty large appetites!
With only a few of the cherry bars left, I knew I had to try out a new flavor.  I had some dried banana chips and pretty ripe bananas, so I decided I’d try out a banana bar.  It’s amazing how much this tastes like banana nut bread!  Healthiest banana nut bread I’ve ever had, for sure.
These are so easy to make and so delicious!  I’m thinking a chocolate bar will be my next experiment..
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Banana Nut Quinoa Bars

yields 1 dozen (12) bars

Banana Nut Quinoa Bars

  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup dried banana chips
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 ripe banana

In a food processor, pulse together the almonds, walnuts, banana chips, and salt until in crumbs. Add in the dates, and pulse until slightly sticky. Pulse in the quinoa and vanilla. Add in the banana, and pulse until a dough forms.

Press the dough into a parchment lined 11x7" baking pan (you can use whatever size you have that is close - it will just alter the thickness). Bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Cut into bars, and allow to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

You can freeze these for up to 2 months, tightly wrapped.

https://cookingalamel.com/2012/07/banana-nut-quinoa-bars.html